Cape Breton Estates: Land of the Golden Arms

The original log constructed house from the 1950s has been meticulously upgraded and expanded within a more contemporary building leaving the rustic charm and comfort of the log interior complimented by a large stone fireplace and a Finnish style wood stove. The master bedroom suite is very spacious with adjoining exercise room, bath and sauna. There is a large ground floor second bedroom and an attached two car garage. An expansive front deck overlooks the lake with over 700 feet of accessible shoreline. Fall colors in the lake are amongst the most brilliant in North America. Fishing and sailing on this largest fresh water lake in the Maritimes (12.5 x 3 miles) is both fun and challenging. A return to the house and a relaxing sauna completes the day. With the main house, a guest house, smaller guest cottage and some outbuildings, this property is attractive to large or extended family groups. Substantial additional acreage comprised of both woodlots and waterfront available.

This property has many notable features, including a massive masonry and tile wood-burning stove in the living room which radiates heat very efficiently. The period kitchen wood stove is properly installed and functional. The original ground-floor bathroom also has its own working woodstove which was originally installed to offset any power outages.

The master ensuite provides access to the exercise and tanning room which additionally has a sauna. The very large moose head dates from the early days of the hunting lodge and is a central figure in the great room next to the large stone fireplace. The 40' by 16' front deck overlooking the lake extends the living space comfortably into the outdoors.

The red guest residence is of substantial size, affording an additional 2006 square feet of living area; three bedrooms and a bath on the second floor and master ensuite on the ground floor, having been built into the barn. The intercom between the master and the upstairs hall dates from the days of young children.

A New Yorker in 1954 built the original log structure which is now the great room of the main dwelling. For a number of years the gathering place of his friends for hunting holidays, the lodge was sold to a Floridian in the early 1960's, then to a Sydney couple in the early '70s. During the 2 decades of their ownership, a number of additions to the main house were constructed, keeping the theme of log walls. The current owner's German-Swiss father then purchased the property in 1981 and set about modernizing and weatherizing the entire estate, beginning with the main home. The present excellent condition of the residences is largely due to the care and attention of his heirs.

NOTE FOR FISHERMEN: Lake Ainslie is part of the Margaree River System and is well known for trout fishing in season (perch also caught). Tributary streams afford excellent fly-fishing opportunities while the lake drains into the SW Margaree River, a well-known salmon fishing river. In turn, it empties into the NE Margaree which is the main salmon fishing river in this area.

ABOUT SHOPPING: 10 minutes to Whycocomagh, 20 minutes to Inverness, 45 minutes to Port Hawkesbury