Heading east from the mining town of Bathurst, Hwy 11 bobs along the Acadian Peninsula’s northern shore, trimming the edge of the rolling countryside before reaching, after about 60km, the district’s pride and joy, the Village Historique Acadien (daily: June to early Sept 10am-6pm; mid-Sept to mid-Oct 10am-5pm; $10). This holds around forty old Acadian buildings relocated from other parts of New Brunswick – only the church was built specifically for the village. Costumed “inhabitants” emphasize the struggles of the early settlers and demonstrate traditional agricultural techniques as well as old methods of spinning, cooking and so on – all in a rustic setting. Another section focuses on the early years of the twentieth century with a hotel and train station amongst a modest assortment of urban buildings. From the historic village, it’s a further 11km east on Hwy 11 to CARAQUET, a fishing port that was founded by Acadian fugitives in 1758 and now straggles along the seafront for some 13km. It may not be much to look at, but Caraquet does have one or two sights, beginning with the Musée Acadien de Caraquet, at 15 Blvd St-Pierre East/Hwy 145 (June-Aug Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 1-6pm; $3), which chronicles the hardships of those early settlers and has a small gallery devoted to the work of local artists. At the west end of town, there’s also the shrine of Ste-Anne-du-Bocage built to commemorate the founding families’ trials and tribulations. Caraquet is the setting for the region’s most important Acadian Festival (tel 727-6515), a ten-day programme of music and theatre held in early August, which begins with the blessing of the fishing fleet by a local bishop.