Hubbards Market and Other Weekend Adventures

After the winter we’ve had, this recent stretch of sunny hot spring days have felt like therapy. I’ve been spending every spare second on my deck, bringing my little canna seedlings outside with me while I work. When the summer weather stretched right into the weekend, we filled the car with friends and hit the road for Hubbards.

I always forget how close Hubbards is. A quick 30 minute drive up the 103 brought us to the Hubbards Farmers Market.

Hubbards Barn 1

The Hubbards Farmers Market is held Saturday morning from 8 – 12 at the Hubbards Barn and Community Park. It was opening weekend, the start of their 20th season, and the market was bustling with vendors and shoppers shaking off the winter blahs (2017 Season starts May 13th!) .

It’s a wonderful space for a market. The red barn has worn wooden floors, sliding doors that let the light and breeze in, and white paper lanterns and mini lights set agains thick light wood ceiling beams. Behind the barn is a series of nature trails. There are winding wood bridges, little brooks, and picnic tables to connect over coffee and food.

Hubbards Farmers Market

Between our group we tried lemon tarts and canelé from Julien’s, peanut butter cupcakes and turtles from Lisa’s Bakery, coffee from Laughing Whale, bread from Boulangerie La Vendéenne, and rich tart Acadian garlic goats cheese from Hug Your Nanny.

Hubbards Cupcakes

Hubbards Farmers Market

Hug Your Nanny Goat Cheese

It wasn’t all food, of course. I loved this little yarn dish from Anne Pryde, and the beach-ready jewels from LuLu Bellefontaine, just two of the talented local artisans who frequent this farmers market.

Anne Pryde Pottery

Lulu Bellefontaine Jewelry Hubbards Market

After filling up on treats, we headed out to explore Hubbards, starting with the Shore Club and Hubbards Beach.

Shore Club Hubbards Nova Scotia

Hubbards Beach Nova Scotia

This food truck has a sign that depicts the weather on this day last year!

This food truck has a sign that reminds of the weather on this day last year!

Trellis Cafe is just across the street from the Hubbards Market. It’s one of those places that comes up a lot in conversations, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to stop in. It’s a pretty spot. The patio is sheltered by a vine-covered trellis that was just starting to come back to life for the spring.

Trellis Cafe Hubbards

We ordered corned beef hash, an eggs benny with ham, and fishcakes to share. The breakfast fishcakes are huge and are served with sunnyside up eggs on top, and are what I’d get next time.

Trellis Cafe Hubbards

Trellis Cafe Hubbards

We took the Lighthouse Route back. It ‘s the old highway and it runs right along the coast. It adds a few minutes to the trek but the sights and stops are so very worth it. If you do it right, though, it will take you a long time to get home. This stretch is lined with beaches, shops and restaurants. We took our time, stopping at the beach (briefly… It was cold), then did a little shopping at Rural Roots, an awesome antique store with fun, affordable finds.

Queensland Beach Nova Scotia

Queensland Beach NS

Rural Roots Antique Shop

Rural Roots Antique Shop

We finished our road trip at the Bike and Bean Cafe and Bike Shop. It’s set up in the old Tantallon train station. I just recently wrote about Bike and Bean for SOAR magazine as part of a piece on the many cool re-purposed train stations that you’ll find in Nova Scotia.

Bike and Bean Nova Scotia

Bike and Bean Nova Scotia

The Hubbards Farmers Market is a great base for a day trip. It’s not too far from Halifax and is close to a number of beaches, cafes, and other fun stops like the Hooked Rug Museum. You can keep going along to Mahone Bay and take in the three churches, or just plan to go as far as Hubbards so that you can spend more time exploring the area and the route home.

As long-time readers know, I’m a big fan of farmers markets, and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be helping Farmers Markets of Nova Scotia out with their social media and eNewsletter. If you’d like to follow along with those accounts, check out @MarketFreshNS on Twitter or join us on Facebook!

If East Coast travel tales are more your thing, you can follow me on Twitter @GillianWesleyNS or on Facebook.

Location:
57 Nova Scotia Trunk 3
Hubbards, NS

Website: http://hubbardsbarn.org/farmers-market/

Season:
May – October
2018 season starts May 12th!
Saturdays 8 am – 12 pm

Find more road trip inspiration with these 10 day trips within two hours of Halifax.

About the author

The Local Traveler

Two travellers' tales of finding adventure on the East Coast. This blog is dedicated to the best parts of travel, and to discovering, celebrating and promoting things to do in our corner of the world, and sometimes beyond. We especially love craft beer, day trips, romantic escapes, local food & hidden gems. Join our community on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and share tips and photos of your favourite East Coast adventures.

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