Nova Scotia Road Trip Ideas Include visit to historic Shelburne

Nova Scotia, road trip ideas are easy to find and plan if you use Doers & Dreamers guide. The town of Shelburne is about 3 hours drive from Halifax, NS, Canada. Its waterfront district has many old buildings creating the feel and look of 18th century and is a great location for architectural photography.

Shelburne Dock street - old home McDonough home built 1785, "six over six" windows — 18-th century home architecture – Patrick McDonough house c. 1785

1850 house - Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada — Architecture of Captain’s McLean’s Carriage House – c 1850

Shelburn, Nova Scotia Photo Gallery

In fact, many historic movies were filmed here. Located in the South Shore area of Nova Scotia, it is a little further away from Halifax than Liverpool, and it is very close to Yarmouth. Yarmouth has an excellent ferry link to the USA and is a convenient entry point.

Two red windows with shutters, "six over six" - 18-th century style — Old window of a dory museum

Old wanterfront building - dory boatbuidling Nova Scotia museum and store — John C. Williams Dory Shop Museum

There are many Nova Scotia road trip ideas and visiting historic Shelburn is worth considering. Shelburn’s waterfront is a unique place with character and good for historic architectural photography. There is an abundance of well preserved historic buildings.

Old public place and market, a dory museum, a barrel factory and Cox’s warehouse are all good examples of architecture and cityscapes of 17-18 centuries. The main magnet for tourists is the waterfront – Dock Street. The next street up is called Water Street and has several more architectural landmarks – churches, old bank buildings and private mansions.

Shelburne harbour picture with marine anchor — Admiralty-type anchor – monument on the harbor front

Wooden building Shelburne waterfront, NS Canada, pictures of buildings — 19-th century architecture example – warehouse

Historic Shelburne was founded right after the American Revolution when many loyalists came here and the town had a population almost as big as New York at that time. That did not last, of course.

Today, there are about a couple thousand people living in town, the main industry being fishing because of the proximity to the Grand Banks. Shelburne is positioned not on the Atlantic coast but inland at the head of a long harbor well protected from the weather.

Cooper factory old wooden building, pigeons on the roof — Barrel factory – high-pitch roof architecture

Yoke punishing device in public market area, Shelburne, Canada — Old public place and market on Dock Street

Shipbuilding was always an important business here and now there is still a small shipyard in Shelburne that can repair small ships. Big ships cannot enter because the channel leading to the yard it not very deep.

Plan a trip to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and immerse yourself in local history. The town offers a few options for eating out. You can find pubs and restaurants, there is even a Chinese place, a couple of tea rooms and cafes. Pick a nice day and go for a day road trip to historic Shelburne.