Big Beach (Tràigh Mhòr in

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

, pronounced "try vohr") is a community located on the north side of the Boisdale Hills on the east side of the Great Bras D'Or Lake on Provincial Route 223, which runs from Leitches Creek to Little Narrows, through Central

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. Located on the " Bras D'Or Lakes Scenic Drive" it is part of the

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipa ...

in Central Cape Breton Island. At the time comprising the three small communities of Big Beach, Glasgow, and Big Brook, Big Beach was populated during the first half of the 19th century by Scots from the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

islands, specifically the

Isle of Barra Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway. In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...

, as well as

Benbecula Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...

and other islands in that chain, which are located off the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Today, the descendants of these

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

"Barramen" still dominate Central Cape Breton Island's Gaelic culture. The area is still heavily influenced by Catholicism and the local

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

was the law. Gaelic was the first language of the community until the middle of the 20th century. A campaign of violence and intimidation by the provincial school board led to the near extermination of Gaelic culture and language in Cape Breton. However, there has been a resurgence of the Gaelic language and culture promulgated through a local Feis an Eilei

(Festival of the Island) and Highland Village Museu

a Provincial Nova Scotia Living Museum in nearby Iona, Nova Scotia, Iona. The Gaelic language is now being taught to children attending the Rankin School of the Narrows. The Big Beach School is now a private residence and was replaced by the now closed grade school in

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

. The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

came through Central Cape Breton and Big Beach in the latter part of the 19th century, bringing a connection to the rest of

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. The railroad is still in operation, run by the

Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a short line railway that operates in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. CBNS operates of main line and associated spurs between Truro in the central part of the province to Point Tupper ...

. "Section Men" were hired to upkeep sections of the track. It was a coveted job. Many men cut timber for rail ties to subsidize their income. There was a rail spur to the beach at one time when a company from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

gathered sand to make

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

china. Most of the land grants were approximately , and many properties still run between the Crown Land at the top of the Boisdale Hills to the "front" on the Great Bras D'Or Lake. The area was mostly subsistence farming and there is still very little employment available in the area. However, the area is popular for summer residents and there has been a resurgence of building recently.

References

Central Cape Breton PortalFeis an EileinHighland Village Museum in Iona, NS
{{coord, 46, 0, 24.26, N, 60, 40, 49.47, W, name= Big Beach, Nova Scotia, display=title, region:CA-NS_scale:100000 Communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia