Come with us to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as we explore a beautiful portion of The Canadian Maritimes!  The fiber production in the Maritimes ranges from wool to alpaca and even linen! We’ll stop in to meet indi dyers, wool producers and even ……….Nova Scotia is known for its rugged coastlines with historic lighthouses, charming and colorful fishing villages so you know that the lobster and seafood is the freshest possible!

You’ll find yourself on a sunset sail one evening while in Lunenburg, and another day walking barefoot on the famous red sand beaches while on Prince Edward Island. We will explore the region’s history, from the Mi'kmaq people and the Acadians to the friendly folks whom we’ll meet in each community we visit. We’ll visit local yarn shops and small artisan shops along the way. Rug hooking is the region's most traditional craft, and we will  try our hand at it in a small project with a wooly twist! 

Accommodation will be in grand old inns and characterful cottages, all within view of the ever-present ocean. This is a workshop-loaded tour, from the magical wooliness of thrumming mittens or slippers, and our funky little rug hooking project along with dyeing alpaca yarns within close range to those cute and friendly alpacas.

To Register 

A Registration Form and a non-refundable $1000 deposit are required to join the trip. Once you submit your online registration and deposit payment is received, your spot on the tour is secure. See our Terms & Conditions HERE.

Have questions? Please contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

This tour has been announced a "Go!" 

Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

Tour Activity Level 

We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander.

Mobility Comfort Level = 3+

Short coastal walks with uneven, rocky terrain; limited ground floor rooms at all properties; getting on and off a ferry ramp

Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels here.

Travel Insurance Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight by clicking here or through your own provider.  (*Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF and we will receive a small commission for policies bought through the provided link.)

Arranging Your Flights In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

Please Note the Following Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

HALIFAX

WELCOME to NOVA SCOTIA!! Most travelers will have arrived into Halifax the night before. Self-transfer to the hotel, check-in and get a good nights’ sleep.  We’ll begin our first day together with our 9:00am introductory meeting and hand out kits for the thrumming workshop. Immediately after, we dive into our first fiber experience and visit the indie dye studio where these kits were created. Afterwards we have free time to venture outdoors along the bustling Halifax harbourfront to explore its amazing maritime history as displayed at the Halifax Maritimes Museum, along with the plentiful shops and cafes before enjoying a waterfront dinner together!  The Halifax Citadel provides an amazing view of the harbor, if you are up for the climb!

LUNENBURG

We leave Halifax and spend the next few days along The Lighthouse Route, one of Nova Scotia’s most iconic stretches of coastline. Our base for the next three days will be the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lunenburg, in a grande inn just a few blocks away from the charming harbor. Renowned for its bright and colorful architecture and vibrant fishing and sailing heritage, we will explore the rugged coastline with its history of lighthouses, shipwrecks, and pirates.  Now, however, the pirates have been largely replaced by artisans inspired by their maritime environment.  Lucky us!

LUNENBURG

We’ll sharpen our knitting skills with the first of 3 workshops on this tour - Thrumming, the ingenious art of adding little fleecy bits into your knitting for a cloud-like wooly lining. Thrumming produces a very warm fabric, a must in a wet, cool and often foggy maritime climate. Choose to make mittens or a pair of slippers. We’ll visit the charming town of Mahone Bay, enjoy the dramatic beauty and stop in to visit a wool studio followed by a visit with an artist who makes hats with a lot of personality.

We’ll return to Lunenburg with free time to shop or knit on the patio followed by our sunset sail in the harbor that evening. You are welcome to bring aboard snacks and a beverage for this special treat. 

GASPEREAU VALLEY

Today we’ll depart Lunenburg and move north to Gaspereau Valley, stopping for a delightful catered lunch and wine, cider or non-alcoholic beverage tasting at Lucketts Vineyard, a winery with a gorgeous view of the Bay of Fundy and the Gaspereau Valley. As we settle into our accommodation in Wolfville, we will invite a fiber producer passionate about sustainably produced local flax and wool.

Our accommodation has an indoor pool along with a variety of cozy outdoor spaces to relax and knit; choose your favorite knitting spot, a porch with rocking chairs or an adirondack chair in front of an evening fire. 

GASPEREAU VALLEY 

Our hands stay busy today with another workshop: Rug Hooking, hosted by Gaspereau Valley Fibres, home to a flock of Cotswold sheep. Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. We’ll have our choice of design from well-known contemporary rug hooking designer Deanne Fitzpatrick's kits. After the workshop, if time permits, we’ll visit the Grand Pre National Historic Site.

PICTOU

This day will be chock full of travel adventures. We’ll begin at Burntcoat Park boasting the highest tides in the world. We will stretch our legs and spend time with a cool and groovy LYS visit in Tatamagouche and learn a bit more about the fleeces produced in the region and then finally we will tour a Maritimes special rebuilding of the Ship Hector which brought the Scottish setters to their new home of Nova Scotia. 
When we check into our accommodation today, you may decide to go straight to the beach for an evening stroll. 

PEI and Dalvay by the Sea

Let’s go by sea to Prince Edward Island! We’ll board the ferry after breakfast, with our knitting projects in hand and hum through the waves to the province of PEI. While PEI has a laid-back vibe, we will spend our time diving deep into as many rich fiber experiences as we can over these next few days.  We love a place that promotes its own Fibre Trail! We’ll start off with a tour of the local favorite Fleece and Harmony - managing their flock of organically raised sheep, dyeing and milling their own brand of yarn.  You’ll have time on your  own to enjoy lunch and shopping in delightful Charlottetown. 

The following morning, we will visit Prince Edward Islands most famous resident, Anne of Green Gables! The afternoon boasts free time to walk the expansive sandy beaches near our grande Inn. We save our last day to meet the friendly and gorgeous alpacas of Green Gables Alpacas. 

We’ll have conquered this fiber trail after 3 days, and lounging and knitting on the spectacular veranda in the evenings at Dalvay will be icing on the cake! 

HOMEWARD BOUND

After breakfast, we have specific airport routes and times to meet today along with a bridge crossing, as we bid farewell to the Canadian Maritimes! 

Colleen is an experienced fiber wrangler, currently knitting multiple projects, spinning up some hand-blended fibers on her Lendrum DT and has discovered it is difficult, but not impossible, to knit while watching a South Korean show on Netflix (with subtitles). She is endlessly curious about two things: makers’ stories of the lineage and evolution of their craft… and where to find truly awesome pie. She loves to drive a convertible, swim in natural waters and hula hoops. Colleen lives in Santa Fe, NM and can't get enough of the grande vistas including that endless azul sky. 

Vana is an avid knitter, spinner, weaver and lover of all things fiber.  She is fortunate to reside in beautiful Nova Scotia Canada where she raises Angora bunnies and Old English Babydoll Southdown sheep.   During her previous incarnation as an Horticulturist and Arborist she developed a keen interest in native landscapes and has extensive pollinator gardens, beehives and small native plant nursery.