Meet Ruth & Callum MacAulay
Ruth grew up in Lunenburg, the daughter of a fisherman who believed the best conversations happened on the water. Callum came to Nova Scotia from Ireland at twenty-three, chasing work and finding a life instead. They met at a lobster supper in a church basement in 1987, argued about the best hiking trail in the province for three hours, and have never really stopped talking since.
The cottage has been Ruth's family property for three generations. Her grandfather built the original structure in the 1950s with lumber from the property itself — some of those original beams are still overhead in the main living room if you know where to look. Ruth spent years slowly transforming it from a fishing camp into the warm, intentional space it is today. Every piece of furniture has a story. Most of them involve a road trip or an estate sale and Callum pretending he wasn't excited about it.
They raised two kids here during summers. Now those kids are grown and the cottage belongs to whoever needs it most — which these days, Ruth likes to say, is everyone.
Ruth & Callum still live twenty minutes down the road. They're the ones who answer your messages, leave the firewood stacked by the door, and occasionally show up with fresh-caught lobster if the timing is right.
The Driftwood Cottage
About
The Story Behind the Cottage
This place was made to be felt, not just visited.
The Driftwood Cottage wasn't built to be a rental. It was built to be a refuge.
Tucked along the Nova Scotia shoreline, this property has been in our family for years — weathered by salt air, shaped by seasons, and filled with the kind of quiet that's getting harder and harder to find. When we decided to open our doors to guests, we made a promise to ourselves: every person who stays here would feel like they belonged.
So we kept the original hardwood floors. We left the view untouched. We added the things that make a long weekend feel like a full reset — the hot tub, the canoe, the outdoor shower that makes you feel like you're living in a magazine and a forest at the same time.
This isn't a property managed by a corporation. It's a place loved by a family, shared with the people who appreciate it most.
a timeline of events
The Driftwood Cottage Story
2019
2012
1999
1987
1971
1952
The Driftwood Cottage officially opened its doors to guests — and the first visitors left a review that made Ruth cry at the kitchen table in the best possible way.
Three generations of MacAulay summers had filled every corner of this place with enough memories to last a lifetime. It was time to share it.
Ruth began the slow, loving renovation that would transform the cottage from a fishing camp into the retreat it is today — one salvaged piece of furniture, one coat of paint, and one stubborn argument with Callum at a time.
Ruth Fewer and Callum MacAulay were married on the cottage lawn on a foggy September afternoon that turned golden right at the moment it mattered. The guests stayed until midnight. The bonfire lasted longer.
Callum's father, Donald, added the back deck and the dock — convinced that any property worth keeping needed a proper place to watch the water from. He was right.
Angus MacAulay felled the first timber on this property with nothing but a handsaw, a stubborn disposition, and a view he refused to build away from. The original cottage took one summer to raise and has stood through every storm since.
We built this space for the people who need the sound of the ocean more than they need their inbox, who measure a good trip by how completely they unplugged. When you book directly with us you're not just reserving a cottage — you're getting Ruth and Callum in your corner, ready to make sure every detail of your stay is exactly right.
We think you'll feel it the moment you arrive...
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Ready to see it for yourself?