Day trip on the Sunrise Trail

We decided to go on a day trip along the Sunrise Trail from Pictou to Tatamagouche. The trail goes further in each direction but this is the section we drove a few days ago. I will post another section at a later date.

On the drive expect to see rolling farm lands and water views.

First we drove to Tatamagouche and checked all the quaint little shops and the brewery. The brewery was very popular and the streets were crowded with tourists. There are several restaurants along the street and on that day there was even a food truck.

This is a picture of the brewery from the inside of the little train. To the left you can see the back of the food truck that was parked outside.

Near the end of the street we came to Patterson Warf Park, 

and saw this beautiful lighthouse view, picnic tables and fireplace. 

We got on the trail from there and walked as far as the Train Station Inn. This trail follows the water behind Main Street Tatamagouch and from it you can access several business'.

You can even rent these bikes (That is a two person covered bike in the distance). I wouldn't recommend driving through the town on a busy day but they are perfect for this trail.

This is the Train Station Inn. Someday we want to spend the night on a rail car and eat in the dining car. 

We checked out the gift shop and small cafe there as well and were able to get on the “train” which tours the town. Unfortunately I somehow missed getting a picture of this train. I meant to take one when we got off and forgot.The actual stop is at the Foodland grocery store but they let us on there anyway. The fee is by donation and it doesn’t always take the same route. We did a circle around the town and got off again at the Train Station Inn. 

We decided to take the trail back to the Saturday Market and Creamery Museum. You can take the trail much further but it was really hot that day and we decided we would do it sometime in the fall instead.

The Market had two separate sections, one was in the building pictured above and had this outdoor eating area.

The second building was even more interesting,

And I couldn't resist getting this little treat, yum!

The Museum is interesting, there is a section on fossils, 

one on the creamery,

another part has antiques from the area 

another on the coal industry and another on the natives, but the most interesting to me was the Anna Swan portion. 

She is the giantess who was in the circus and even met the Queen. 

On the way back to Pictou we stopped at Rushtons Beach.

It's quite a long walk out to the beach but totally worth it.

The tide was out and it was absolutely beautiful. We walked up to the end and saw seals sunning themselves.

There are several other little stops along this route, this is Balmoral Grist Mill. We didn't spend a lot of time here on this trip but it is beautiful with a walking trail and a picnic area. You can tour the inside during the summer months as well.

We also stopped at Cape John, which has beautiful rocky outcroppings, 

interesting rocks, 

a pebble beach,

a picnic area,

and a warf.

The next stop for us was the Seafoam Lavender Farm

It not only smells wonderful here but it is also picturesque and there is a store where you can buy everything lavender you can imagine, including chocolate with lavender in it. You can do a self guided tour through the gardens, take a selfie and afterwards stop in the store.

There are so many other places to stop along the way, Lismore Sheep Farm (they make amazing slippers) and Sutherland Steam Mill, to name a couple. There are a couple of fishing villages, Toney River and River John, both beautiful. There are several locations to stop and kayak as well. You can definitely fill a whole day with this coastal drive.