The Land
This compound is surrounded by undulating pastures, re-cleared by Brian and occupied by cattle or horses. Shobac is named after the original land grant of Christian Shoubach, on the high cliffs which embrace the site to the north. The fertile, sensuous hills that surround the site are "drumlins" or deposits left by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age some 15,000 years ago. Waves crash dramatically against the nearby Gaff Point cliffs. Erosion of the drumlins creates sandy beaches at the ocean's edge with warm fresh water lakes behind. This landscape long supported subsistence agriculture and the inshore fishery. Gaff Point, adjacent to Shobac, is a 150 acre nature trust, offering spectacular hikes. Three-kilometre-long Hirtles Beach next to Shobac is one of Nova Scotia's finest sandy beaches.