Travelling between the Canadian mainland and Prince Edward Island, you have two options: you can either travel cross the 13-km long construction marvel that is Confederation Bridge, or take the ferry from Caribou in Nova Scotia. We tried both.

Luckily for us, we had time to kill whilst waiting for the ferry, and decided to have a look at the nearest town, Pictou. This is the first sight that met us:

hector

I love old sail ships and was pleased to discover this beauty in Pictou harbour. This is a replica of the ship Hector. On 15 September 1773, 200 highlanders reached the shores of New Scotland (Nova Scotia) as the first Scottish immigrants in Canada. It had been a long and arduous journey – 11 weeks in inclement weather. Among the passengers, 18 children died on the way, of dysentrey and smallpox.

However, much like today, highlanders weren’t easily deterred. Over the coming years, thousands of Scots followed in their wake.

The Scottish influence is still obvious, especially on Pictou’s lamp posts:

At Hector Heritage Quay, you can wander around the outbuildings…

… and of course, go aboard and have a look around the ship.

Pictou practicals

Pictou is about 150 km from Halifax, an easy drive along Trans-Canada Highway 104. Hector Heritage Quay is open between late May and late October.

Do you like old sail ships? Have you perhaps visited Pictou?

Want to see more travel photos? Have a look at this week’s Travel Photo Thursday.