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Humdrum DARTMOUTH , across the harbour from Halifax, is often ignored by visitors as it lacks the more obvious appeal of its neighbour. Nevertheless, it is the province's second largest town, with 70,000 inhabitants, and although it's primarily an industrial centre the ferry ride over provides wide views of the harbour and downtown Halifax - and there are a couple of minor attractions to further justify a sortie. The Dartmouth ferry leaves the Halifax waterfront from beside the Historic Properties at the foot of George Street (Mon-Sat 6.45am-11.30pm; every 15-30min, plus June-Sept Sun noon-5.30pm; $1.65). The journey takes about ten minutes. The twin cities are also connected by two road bridges: the MacDonald, running just to the north of both city centres, and the Mackay, part of the outer ring road. Metro Transit bus #1 uses the MacDonald. Turn left outside Dartmouth ferry terminal and then take the first right for the five-minute stroll to the Quaker House , 57 Ochterloney St (June-Aug only; call for hours tel 464-2253; free), a small, grey-clapboard residence sitting three blocks up the hill from the dock. After the American War of Independence, several Quaker whaling families emigrated from Nantucket Island, off Cape Cod, to Dartmouth, but this is the only one of their houses to survive. The interior has been painstakingly restored to its late eighteenth-century appearance, its spartan fittings reflecting Quaker values. Among the exhibits are a two-hundred-year-old pair of shoes found under the floorboards during renovations in 1991, and the eye of a Greenland whale preserved in formalin - though the staff won't show you this if they think you're squeamish. From here, it's another five-minute walk along - and left at the end of - King Street to a very short stretch of the Shubenacadie Canal , which once connected the Bay of Fundy to Dartmouth, a distance of 90km. Begun in 1826, this monumental feat of engineering, linking a dozen existing lakes with new watercourses and locks, was completed in 1860, but the canal only made a profit for ten years before it was superseded by the railways - and then left to rot. To return to the Dartmouth ferry terminal, double back across the end of King Street and keep straight until you reach the park that leads round the harbourfront - in all, a five-minute walk.
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