The Mull River, celebrated in Jimmy Rankin’s memorable The Mull River Shuffle, which appeared on the Rankin Family’s CD North Country, has its source in the Glencoe area. Rills and brooks from Dunakin and Upper Glencoe, before reaching Glencoe Mills, join to form the Mull River, the stream which flows beneath the bridge below the Glencoe Mills Parish Hall, world-renowned for its square dances and traditional Scottish music. While it is hard to be precise because of the twisty nature of the river, which flows first generally northwest and then a bit east of north, roughly 20 km (12.4 mi) beyond Glencoe Mills, Sheas Brook enters the Mull River in the ravine south of Provincial Route 252 roughly 2 km (1.25 mi) to the west of Brook Village. Near this point,^[1] according to the sixth edition of The Nova Scotia Atlas (ISBN 0-88780-707-0 dated 2006), which agrees with the larger scale togographical map I have (dated 1981), the river changes its name to the Mabou River; from there, it runs roughly 4.5 km (2.8 mi) northwesterly towards Glendyer Station, whereupon it turns west and, though with an occasional twist, thereafter maintains its generally westerly direction, passes through Mabou Village, and, soon thereafter, swelled by the Southwest Mabou River and the Northeast Mabou River, continues majestically onwards until it empties into the Northumberland Strait (Gulf of St. Lawrence) some 10 km (6.2 mi) from Glendyer Station.

The river is navigable by craft the size of lobster boats from the Gulf to Mabou Village, where a small wharf is located near the Cèilidh Trail bridge over the Mabou River. Upriver of the bridge, I have seen only canoes and kayaks and I suspect it would be pretty rough going even for a small motorboat, though apparently the river in days gone by was used for transporting cargo as far as Glendyer Station.

The area teems with wild-life. I have seen a buck with a marvellous head of antlers on the banks of the Mabou near Glendyer Station and many deer tracks in the sand along the Railway Trail. Eagles abound in this area (this essay includes pictures of three of them at various points along the Mabou’s course). Waterfowl of all varieties, including herons and cormorants, are in the waters and occasionally in the air above. Birds of many varieties fill the air with their songs and scolds and the occasional startled grouse surprises one as it darts across a trail. Fish can be seen in the shallow portions of the river and I have encountered frogs and the occasional garter snake along the Railway Trail in the marshy areas.

Although the Mabou is not a very long river—only 15 km (9 mi) in round figures—it is a stunningly gorgeous and impressive one with ever-changing scenery: it certainly packs an incredible amount and variety of beauty in its short course. Moreover, it is a very accessible river, with walking access along a good part of its length. The Railway Trail runs from Glendyer Station to Mabou Village all along its southern bank and Route 252 runs along a goodly portion of its northern bank before climbing up to the Cèilidh Trail (Route 19). Mabou Harbour Road offers several fine views of the river on its northern side between Mabou Village and the Gulf. The high-up views from Mountain Road near Mabou Harbour Mouth and the water-level views from the lighthouse in Mabou Harbour Mouth are equally beautiful, though quite different in character; the Green Point Road (the gravel continuation of Mabou Harbour Road) also has marvellous views. On the south side of the river, West Mabou Road offers a spectacular view at its junction with the Cèilidh Trail and occasional good views at various points in West Mabou, though at some distance from the river. Hunters Road in West Mabou offers stunning views of the whole area, including both the Mabou and the mouth of the Southwest Mabou. The pioneer cemetery, accessible from the West Mabou Road, sits in a beautiful site on a cliff above the river that has excellent views and a stairway to the shore. There is a gorgeous walking trail along the Mabou River in the West Mabou Beach Provincial Park and the Colindale Road beyond the park offers ne plus ultra views of the river’s mouth and the Gulf shore to Mabou Coal Mines.

In this essay, I begin beyond its mouth in the Gulf and ascend the river to the most distant spot on it for which I have photos, a bridge over the river that connects Hillsboro to the Rankinville and Mull River Roads. I have taken so many pictures in this splendid area that it was even harder than usual to distill them down to these twenty-five; I have not even begun to scratch the surface. This area is one of the several glorious places on incredibly lovely Cape Breton Island that constantly calls me to return again and again—I simply cannot get enough of its serene beauty. I hope these photos will encourage you to explore the Mabou River area if you do not already know of it or to return to bask in its enchantments if you do.

Victor Maurice Faubert
2007 May 13

^[1] In his weekly column in the Oran of 2003 October 8, Dr. James St. Clair, whose knowledge of Cape Breton is both comprehensive and deep, says, in speaking of the river flowing under the steel bridge on the Railway Trail at Glendyer Station, that “[t]he river is the Mull River, but generally called the Southeast Mabou River from this point to the sea”. I do not know whether Dr. St. Clair was referring to past historical or current local usage, but, present-day maps clearly mark the river above the bridge as the Mabou River and only use the name Mull River for the river above its junction with Sheas Brook. I have followed that practice here.↩

Note: If you have not yet discovered this Nova Scotia government web site, which I first came across while preparing another essay, check it out! The high quality map of Nova Scotia is the best on-line map I know about that provides generally excellent coverage of Cape Breton Island, although it does contain two errors:

• As shown on the map, route 19 passes too far inland at Port Hood; in fact, the road passes directly by St. Georges Bay before turning inland toward Mabou.

• The village of Belle-Côte is shown as “Bell Cote” on the map, i.e., is missing the final ‘e’ on the first word, a hyphen, and a circumflex accent on the ‘o’; note that other locality names of French provenance such as Chéticamp and Grand-Étang have the appropriate diacritics, so Belle-Côte should as well.

I highly recommend you download this map, which is free, so that you have it at hand on your computer. If you are not familiar with the locations of places in Cape Breton, this map will assist you in finding many of the places I discuss in this essay and will also orient you to the area.

Feedback on the photos and the accompanying commentary, including corrections, is always welcome; it may be sent to the essay’s author.

Previous essays in this series are now archived here.