Explorer's Cottage

  • Botanical garden-like grounds

  • Three floors

  • Sleeps up to 13

  • Waterfront on the Atlantic Ocean

  • 3 bedrooms on upper two floors

  • Fourth bedroom is on the first floor suite

Summary

Explorer's Cottage combines a European country house with a cedar log cabin in a private location where guests can see eagles, hares, woodpeckers, and grouse, while still being within a farming community with neighbors nearby. The cottage is seated on an UNESCO World Heritage Site biosphere reserve and waterfront on the Bras d'Or, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Explorer's Cottage has an iron gate at the top of the long driveway into the forest. The property has an asphalt driveway, as well as an asphalt loop walkway that passes through several distinct areas of the waterfront acreage: a boreal forest, a forest orchard with Japanese-inspired bridges, a fir forest, a birch forest, a saltwater estuary at the shore, and a small granite pebble beach. There are hundreds of bulbs planted near the cottage and along the pathways, as well as a prolific golden plum tree, apple and pear trees, various nut trees, a miniature Japanese maple tree, large Japanese maples, and special types of conifers, such as blue spruce and cypress trees. There is a Japanese inspired garden located just nearby the house, with a black granite bench, bronze cranes, and a black granite obelisk. There are benches and places to rest throughout the lower property, as well as three outdoor grills. There is a field of mint, blackberries, and raspberries in the forest across the road from the house, as well as a private road with a spring and stream over the 150 acres of the property. Guests can tour the private forest road with a local guide as included in their stay. The waterfront has a large staircase with a grill and picnic table and stairs to the water. The cottage is available for rent in all seasons.

The bedrooms were designed by the architect to be very separate and private either on opposite sides of the house or on different floors, so people on different sleep schedules or those who want their privacy can be comfortable. A book of tips and advice written by the owner is available at the cottage, and the owner is available to answer any questions about creating an itinerary or activities via text or email upon request.

Features

  • Sleeps up to 13 people

  • Three bedrooms on the upper two floors, all with private balconies, as well as an add on of the first floor suite available for a fourth bedroom, additional laundry room, and kitchenette

  • 3 Queen size beds, 1 King size bed in each bedroom

  • 1 Twin sized bed in the great room; guests may choose where to set up the beds

  • Master bedroom on the first floor, with ensuite bathroom featuring a two person jet bathtub and private balcony

  • Japanese garden feature, sculptures on property, three outdoor grills throughout the property, extensive deck on the waterfront with grill and electricity

  • Includes the use of fishing equipment with reels and line

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Families

  • Families are welcome

  • Pets are not permitted

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Bathrooms 

  • 1 large two-person jet spa tub and separate shower ensuite in the master bedroom

  • 1 bath with a shower upstairs

  • 1 bath with a shower in the first floor suite

  • 4 toilets

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Amenities

  • Wifi

  • Use of land line phones in each bedroom, the great room, and the kitchen, with outgoing calls restricted to within Canada, while incoming calls can arrive from anywhere

  • Oven

  • Toaster

  • Fridge with freezer

  • Dishwasher

  • Coffee maker

  • Clothes washing machine

  • Clothes dryer

  • Hair dryer

  • Towels

  • TV

  • Satellite dish

  • CD player, with large CD library of mainly classical music

  • Electric heat throughout

  • Radio

  • Stereo

  • Clock radios or alarm clocks in bedrooms

  • Iron with ironing board

Interesting points

  • Orchard with golden plum, apple, and pear trees

  • Clearing surrounded by trees, surrounded by birds

  • Waterfront on the Bras d'Or, part of the Atlantic Ocean

  • Private land of approximately 150 acres

  • Use of fishing rods upon request

Each stay includes:

  • Wifi

  • Satellite television

  • Use of land lines with outgoing calls restricted to Canada, while incoming calls may come from anywhere

  • Welcome tray of coffee and teas

  • Book of activities and attractions in the area

  • Cleaning services each week during a stay

  • Shampoo and conditioner, as well as portions of dish soap, capsules for dishwasher, liquid soap to wash hands, detergent for clothing, and paper towels

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  • smoke detector

  • first aid kit

  • carbon monoxide detector

  • two fire extinguishers

  • inspected by electrician

Bedrooms

Master bedroom, first floor, private balcony

King sized bed, ensuite bathroom

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Guest Bedroom I, second floor, private balcony

Queen size bed

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Guest room II, second floor, private balcony

Queen size bed

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Foyer upstairs with private balcony, library, first floor suite

Great room, dining room, kitchen, first floor suite with fourth bedroom and full bathroom

Please note that smoking is not permitted in any structures on the property

Please refer to the FAQs for more information about the cottage.

 
Here is one of the cottage neighbors. He is of the Fraser family, and they all knew my father. I took this a few years ago when I was trying to record local history in the area, and we had stopped to catch up by coincidence. Mr. Fraser like so many l
Photography as been a great passion of mine since my father let me use his manual film Canon when I was ten, and I did not put it down until I got a new digital Canon a few years ago, so I understand the importance of a setting to a photo. While wedd
I put up two Spotify playlists for Explorer's Cottage and Raspberry Cottage on the website in the bio. You can listen to these for free. They set the mood for the cottages. The cottage playlists combine Gaelic songs from Celtic Colours and Acadian mu
To follow the leadership of the provincial government chief medical officer, and as the cottages are on an island, I will keep both Explorer's Cottage and @raspberry.cottage.capebreton closed to reservations from people from outside home communities
To help support children and their parent/s or caretakers while they are in their self-isolation, I am excited to soon release a series of crafts and projects related to the cottages in some way. The ideas are inspired by my volunteer work at the Art
To be responsible, I closed Explorer's Cottage and @raspberry.cottage.capebreton from about mid-March to the end of April to gather more information and facts about COVID-19 to make sure to protect the housekeepers and guests. The housekeepers are al
I hope everyone of all faiths and denominations had a lovely holiday. Our family celebrates Easter, and we all want to thank essential workers, including medical workers, postal workers, and oil workers, for their selflessness during this unprecedent
Looking for snacks during a hike ✨ ✨ ✨ #capebreton #novascotia #explorecanada #cottagelife
Happy Valentine's Day! Children are the kings and queens of our hearts at Explorer's Cottage, and I am coming up with ways to make their stays even more exciting besides our raft of children's games, crafts, and toys. The next photo in this post show
Just taking a small break from renovations and inspirations to note that I posted a link in my bio here to my blog post on taking photos in the Blue Hour. Using the natural light after sunset is a way to provide your photos with a different feeling.
The design process took a while inside Explorer's Cottage. The third photo here is the "before" of a guest room that I decorated with just what was in the cottage. 😂 It is busy and does not work as well as after I took away many of the ite
The lowest point during the renovations happened just at the beginning, when I had the stairs and deck to the water sanded and painted white. I also had an aluminum shed removed from the lower landing, as ice had crushed it, which can be seen in the
To continue from the previous post, the Museum of Natural History in Halifax was extremely thorough and professional in assessing the provenance of the taxidermy collection. It took about a year for the entire collection to be assessed and discussed
Before I even had the idea of renting out the cottages, I did not know what to do with the more than 33 taxidermy specimens at Explorer's Cottage, which my father purchased through an ad in the paper from a local gentleman who hunted and created the
Here are the horizontal photos that tell the story about where the cottage renovations first started. I was inspired by the neat end to end marble tiles at the Milwaukee Art Museum in the USA for some of the renovations in the previous post and for t
One of the most frequent questions I am asked is about the process of restoring and decorating the cottages. To tell the story, I would need to start at a different location to begin. This was the first place I took care of after my father passed awa
Guests enjoy snowshoeing trails with both near and far views of part of the Atlantic Ocean. I even saw a beaver dam on this outing last season, as in the winter details are easier to see. Old fashioned and modern snowshoes, a wooden toboggan, and a f
The snowfall this year has been heavy at the cottage and similar to that of 2013, pictured here. In 2013, my father had just passed, and I was just going through the process of sorting through things at the cottage, figuring out what to donate, and a
The stairway leads to the Bras d'Or, part of the Atlantic Ocean, and a protected UNESCO biosphere reserve, along with the entire property on which Explorer's Cottage sits. The stairway to the private shore has two landings, one with a picnic table an
Guests have many dining opportunities while driving through Cape Breton. Cabot Links in Inverness serves my favorite seafood chowder. It has a little whole lobster, and it is warming yet still quite light and subtle. I also love their "Lob Cobb&