The Digby and Digby Neck Page

Digby is a town located in a basin where the Digby - St. John, NB ferry docks. The 'Digby Neck', or as it is sometimes called, the 'Digby Gut', is a long peninsula that follows the mainland shore. It is extended by two islands, Long Island and Brier Island. Brier is a smaller island that sticks out into the Bay of Funday. The inlet formed by the 'Neck' is St. Mary's Bay.

Digby is the home of one of the world's largest scallop fleets. Brier Island is the westernmost point of Nova Scotia near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. It is a prime location for whale watching and bird watching.

A foggy and cloudy morning start

Six tall ships toured a number of towns in Nova Scotia one summer. We were in Lunenburg while they were tied up there. Later they came to Digby, about 60 miles from Yarmouth. We went up to see them, staying overnight for a week-end holiday. The morning was foggy and cloudy, as indicated in the pictures above.

In the first shot the other side of the bay can hardly be seen. In the second it is getting better and in the third some dark cloud came over as a warning, that was not required.

A clearing sky followed by a sunny day.

Because the ships were stretched out over a long distance I could not get more than four into a shot at one time. In the two outer shots above the scene looks like one from the nineteenth century, when the tall ships ruled the world. The one ship that I recognize is the center picture, HMS Rose. It seems funny to see a British warship flying the stars and stripes at the stern.

On the far side of the bay and out of sight to the left is HMCS Cornwallis. It was a basic training base for the Navy during the war. HMCS Esquimalt, near Victoria, BC, then became the basic base for some years until it was eventually moved back to Cornwallis. Cornwallis was finally closed about 1994.

From Ferry Joshua Slocum---Old Bank------------Fishing Boat

From our first trip to Brier Island, at the end of the Digby Neck, is a scene taken from a well know ferry, the Joshua Slocum. It shows a fishing fleet in the background and the passage between Brier and Long Islands. There is a fog over the Bay of Fundy, in the background.

The middle picture is of a bank that looks like something from the past, except for the motorcycle in the front of it. It is no longer there, the bank that is. The third shot is of a fishing boat tied alongside a wharf, near the ferry terminal. The land in the background is Long Island, again.

The Joshua Slockum-------On The Waterfront

Our second trip was as enoyable as the first. When leaving Digby you can get to the Long Island ferry just in time to catch it. Then when getting ashore you take off again and can just make it to the Joshua Slocum ferry, to take you to Brier Island. Joshua Slocum is the man, who in his seventies, sailed around the world solo. The vehicles in the first picture are just going ashore onto Long Island as we wait to go aboard.

A number of various types of boats are in picture two. There is always the little boat anchored to get to the larger ones when anchored out. The white superstructure in the upper left portion of the shot is the Brier Island Whale Watching boat. The right picture is of a fishing boat that had just tied up shortly before. The fisherman is chucking fish parts or old bait into the water. A splash can be seen at the side of the boat as two sea gulls wait to grab what they can.

Widow's Walk----Boat High and Dry----The Churn

As in Yarmouth, some of the ancient houses have Widow's Walks, as in the first of these pictures. The house is in beautiful condition, as are most of the houses designated as heritage homes.

This boat is high and dry. It is near the middle of the island beside the roadway. It appears to be in fairly good condition so I am sure that it is not deserted.

St. Mary's Bay between the Neck and the mainland is minute compared to the Bay of Fundy. As the tide comes in some water rises in St. Mary's but the Fundy side rises much more rapidly. This causes the water to flow quickly between Brier and Long Islands. On the north eastern corner of the island the water can be seen to churn quite roughly. Boats getting caught in this can be in trouble. The rock formation is quite unique. If you follow the coast down to the right for a piece you will see this same formation but in excess of 30 feet in height. It is something to see.

Closed All Year---Wind Swept Tree---Lighthouse

There is a strange thing about this building. There is a sign on the door that cannot be read in the picture. It says, "Spouters Inn", "Closed All Year". We never did find out what the meaning of this was.

At the south west end of the island there is a wind that flows in one direction most of the time. Trees tend to grow in the direction with the wind, and with the salt spray, I guess they don't live too long.

The third picture is of a lighthouse at the south west end. If you go down the hill to the beach below you may find all kinds of semi-precious stones. One of the most proliferent is the amethyst. Many people do search the beach for these semi precious stones.

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