Would you like a mixture of France and Britain at a beautiful, North American location ? Then visit Sentiers (French for Trails) Carman Trails at Wakefield, Quebec.
It is 25km(16 miles) north of Ottawa, 100 miles (160km) north of Syracuse, NY.,
200km (120 miles) west of Montreal or 400km (250 miles) east of Toronto and there is a budget bus service from Toronto or Montreal. More about that later.
In addition to English and French, you can speak ‘strine and if you are a Brit (or a Monty Python fan) you can order spam, Spam and SPAM. If you are a carnivore, you can order Caribou Stew for which the meat is flown to special order from Baffin Island in Canada’s newest province Nunavut. If you are a vegetarian, there is a great choice, much of which has been grown in Carman Trails’ own garden.
The eighty acres of Carman Trails has a common boundary with Gatineau Park which is a National Park with 270 kilometres (160 miles) of trails which offer excellent walking in Summer and Fall (Autumn to we Brits) and World Class cross country skiing in Winter. One of the World Loppit (Championship) races is held in Gatineau Park.
To explore the trails and park you can rent mountain bikes from Carman Trails or do what I did – walk. There are some spectacular lookouts. I recommend the view from the top of cliffs overlooking Carman Lake. Take a trail to the Notch and then climb following some blazes and you come to a marvellous view over Carman and Brown Lakes. Don’t go too near the edge; it’s 400 feet down. You can then climb back down to the Notch and walk to Carman Lake and look up at the cliffs where you will likely see turkey vultures wheeling on the up-draughts. If you are a twitcher, or just an uninformed birdwatcher like me, you will see kingbirds and crested woodpeckers.
Nearby is Brown Lake and if you want a change from walking or biking, rent a canoe from Carman Trails and paddle from one end of Carman Lake through a swamp full of snapping turtles to Brown Lake where you can skinny dip with little chance of an audience. There is a lot of wildlife – it is an Exploration Zone within Gatineau Park – but you must be very patient. I have happened upon bears, porcupines and foxes but only by chance.
You can walk to caves and lakes or to the village of Wakefield, which is on a wide bend in the Gatineau River. There are some cafes in which to relax and some bars in which to relax even more. In the evenings, The Black Sheep (Le Mouton Noir) is the place to be, particularly when they have live music. Sometimes this is provided by internationally known artists. I just missed a show by a Scot turned Aussie, Eric Bogle.
From Wakefield, in summer, you can take the steam train to Hull (‘ull in French).This provides a very pretty ride along the Gatineau River. From the station in ‘ull there is a bus into Ottawa, the capital of Canada.
In 1830, a canal was built from the point which is now Ottawa, to Kingston at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. British masons were brought over to do the stone work on the locks and docks. Those masons also built stone warehouses in the area of Ottawa known as the ByWard market, which is the centre of Ottawa’s night life and where there are many sidewalk cafes. There are several attractive yards between the warehouses and away from the road. Ask Rob at Carman Trails about the sights to see in Ottawa. In his student days he pulled a rickshaw around all those old buildings.
While you are in Ottawa, visiting the Parliament Buildings is a must. They are a superb blend of Scots and French architecture. The interior of the Library of Parliament is lined with Canadian white pine. That is the oldest part of the complex. Outdoors, behind the Library is a terrace with an excellent view of the Ottawa River, which was part of the transcontinental highway before railways.
From New York, travellers took a canoe up the Hudson River to the Mohawk River and on to the Richlieu River which flows into the St. Lawrence. They then had to paddle hard, up-stream, past Montreal and into the Ottawa River and up to the point overlooked, now, by the Library of Parliament. There they would have had to portage past the Chaudiere Falls and then on up to a portage at Mattawa from where they took the Mattawa River into Lake Huron and on to Lake Superior. The name Ottawa actually comes from an aboriginal band that lived in what is now Michigan.
In the Indian Wars (provoked by Europeans) the Iroquois killed off most of the local native people, the Algonquins. So, the fur traders asked the Ottawa band to deliver beaver pelts to Montreal and thus the river became known as the Ottawa River.
There are several fine museums in Ottawa/Hull and I recommend the Grand Hall of the Museum of Civilization. It is devoted to the First Nations and has superb native artefacts from across Canada. For a less formal view of Canada’s First Nations visit Victoria Island where a group of determined aboriginals have set up their own Embassy to Canada ! When you can find anyone at home, they will tell you that the Algonquin People own Parliament Hill and most of the Ottawa Valley! If the Ambassador is not present the view from the Embassy is worth the walk.
In my opinion, the street musicians and other buskers in Ottawa are first class. One weekend is The Festival of Buskers and that is outstanding (but crowded). However, on any summer day the musicians, clowns and magicians are to be seen around the ByWard Market and kids of all ages love them.
When your feet are tired from city sidewalks (pavements to we Brits), go to the International Hostel, which is the Old Jailhouse, and wait for the Back Country Bus which is operated by Carman Trails. That will take you back to the peace and good companionship to be found at that idyllic spot in the Gatineau Hills.
If you go to Carman Trails in June or July, the wildflowers are spectacular: mallows, wood anemones, spring vetch, St John’s Wort, vipers bugloss and many others.
Europeans who are knowledgeable about wildflowers will enjoy it because many of the wildflowers came to Canada from Europe with the grain seeds brought by the first settlers from France and Britain.
In late September and early October, Carman Trails is a great place to see the Fall Colours which Eastern North Americans may take for granted but which, for we Europeans, are breathtaking.
Canadian currency is the Canadian dollar = 75c US= about 42p Sterling.
For non-members of Hostelling International, a bunk at Carman Trails is
$19.50 Canadian. Members of the YHA or other Hostelling International affiliates pay less.
There is a bed and breakfast rate and a full board rate I think. Consult the Carman Trails
website, or phone 819 459 3180.
To get to Carman Trails from Toronto, Montreal or Quebec City, take the
Moose Bus. The Moose Bus goes right to Carman Trails and is a budget, hop-on, hop-off service which can take you Eastward or Westward after your visit to Carman Trails.
Rob, the gaffer at Carman Trails is very knowledgeable about other HI(Hostelling International) locations across Canada and will do a BABA (Book a Bed Ahead) for you. I predict that, like many who have discovered Carman Trails you will want to go back.
