Nova Scotia Comes Alive in 2011!

Baddeck – Alexander Graham Bell’s Shangri-La

If you were asked what do the telephone and the hydrofoil have in common you might be intuitive enough to answer that they were great American inventions. You would be partially-right.

1) The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 in the U.S.

2) Bell was a Scot

3) The hydrofoil was invented by Bell in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, a place where he spent the most rewarding period of his life.

Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone ranks up there with the invention of the wheel as one of the most important inventions of mankind. His experiments with helping the deaf contributed to this invention and a lot of the groundwork was done in his home in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

Bell, his wife Mabel, and their two young daughters arrived in Baddeck by boat over the Strait of Canso built two homes Beinn Bhreagh. He also built the original Bell Laboratory, the predecessor to the famous Bell Laboratories which came many years later. Bell, a Scot, could also speak which was the mother tongue of this small Cape Breton community took. In fact he opened his home to the locals and promoted culture, sociability, science and industry among the villagers.

In his laboratory on Beinn Bhreagh Alec Bell conducted experiments, built airplanes, hydrofoil boats, and, during WW I, lifeboats for the Canadian navy. The Bells provided steady employment for many in the village of Baddeck. Mabel Bell also was involved and is credited with fostering the famous hooked rugs of Cheticamp.

In addition Baddeck became the site of the first powered aircraft to fly in the British Empire, the Silver Dart which was first flown off the ice of Baddeck Bay on February 23, 1909. As well the HD-4 hydrofoil established the world watercraft speed record in 1917 after travelling at 71 MPH across Baddeck Bay. This record lasted for 20 years.

Alexander Graham Bell spent the last thirty years of his life, until 1922, in Baddeck. Today, there is a grand interpretive museum within site of his famous homestead.

Baddeck, situated in the heart of Cape Breton, is considered to be the beginning and end of the world famous Cabot Trail. Stretching along the shores of the beautiful Bras d’Or Lakes it is a bustling resort community boasting over 600 rooms but it retains the essence of the quaint village that Bell loved.

You can begin your trip of the Cabot Trail in Baddeck, spend a few days traversing the route and finish up in the same spot after completing a “loop.” For more information go to the Visit Baddeck site: