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It's a thirty-minute drive north from Peggy's Cove to Hwy 103 and a further 40km west to CHESTER , a handsome and prosperous-looking town tumbling over a chubby little peninsula. Founded by New Englanders in 1759, the town, with its fine old trees and elegant frame houses, has long been the favoured resort of yachting enthusiasts whose principal shindig is the Race Week regatta held in mid-August. In July and August, Chester also hosts an excellent summer festival of contemporary music and Canadian-oriented drama at the Chester Playhouse , right in the middle of town (information and reservations tel 275-3933 or 1-800/363-7529, www.ChesterPlayhouse.ns.ca ; tickets around $14). Finally, out in the bay and reached from Chester jetty by passenger ferry (Mon-Fri 4 daily, Sat & Sun 2 daily; 45min; $5 return) are two tiny islets, Big and Little Tancook , whose quiet country roads and benign scenery are popular with walkers, who pop across for a day's ramble. Big Tancook is the prettier of the islets and there's somewhere to eat here too - Carolyn's Cafe (June-Oct), opposite the jetty. Chester tourist office (June & Sept Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm; tel 275-4616) is located in the old train station on the northern edge of town, beside Hwy 3. The office will have town maps and leaflets for an historic walking tour, and will help arrange accommodation , but even so you'll be lucky to find anywhere during the festival. The rest of the year, things are easier - especially on weekdays - and the town has a reasonable range of inns and B&Bs. Best of the lot is the Captain's House Inn , a tastefully refurbished nineteenth-century villa at 29 Central St (tel 275-3501; $80-100), followed by the four-roomed Mecklenburgh Inn , a B&B in a Victorian house at 78 Queen St (tel 275-4638; $60-80; June-Oct). There's also a B&B on Big Tancook, the Levy House (tel 228-2120; June-Sept), in an old timber home across from the jetty; they have just two guestrooms with shared bathroom. For delicious seafood , head for the Rope Loft (tel 275-3430; May-Oct) by Chester jetty, or the more informal Sea Deck on the floor below.
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