Baddeck is a small town on the shore of the Bras d'Or Lake, in the middle of Cape Breton Island, and it has a surprising place in the history of flight. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, fell in love with the area on a visit in the 1880s and built a summer estate on the headland across the water, which he called Beinn Bhreagh, Gaelic for beautiful mountain. He spent many summers there, and it is where his experiments in kites, hydrofoils and aircraft took place. In February 1909 the Silver Dart, designed by his young engineers, took off from the frozen surface of the lake near Baddeck and flew in the first powered flight in the British Empire.
The Bras d'Or is not a lake in the usual sense. It is an inland sea, an irregular, deep, salt-water basin that connects to the Atlantic through narrow channels, with islands, coves and wooded shores, and tides that are barely noticeable. Sailors prize it for its calm water, and the shores are dotted with white clapboard churches and small farms. The large Mi'kmaq community of Eskasoni lies across the water, a reminder that people lived here long before the Scots arrived.
The town itself is compact, with a main street of craft shops, bakeries, small hotels and a harbour full of sailboats. The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site museum sits on a hill above the water, with a large collection of Bell's kites and boats. Kidston Island, close to the shore, has a small lighthouse, and the water around it is calm enough for kayaks.
As a start to the Cabot Trail, Baddeck is the gentle prelude. The road leaves town along the water, then climbs, and by the first hill you can see the lake spread out behind. The surface is generally good, though frost heaves are common in spring, and the road is shared with campers and tour buses in July and August. Fuel stations are in Baddeck itself, and the next reliable stops are on the other side of the island, so fill the tank. Seafood chowder and a pint of local beer are a fitting reward. The best weather is in September, when the forests start to turn, though fog can sweep in off the coast at any time.