There are many activities that Canadians love in the winter; there is none more Canadian than ice skating. To make it even more Canadian you ice skate on the Rideau Canal. But the world’s longest skate way was originally designed for a completely different use in mind than a key feature in Ottawa, Ontario’s Winterlude festival. Built during the same period as the First Welland Canal, the Rideau Canal addressed the concerns raised during the War of 1812, where the St. Lawerence River provided the only path for supplies to arrive in Upper Canada from Quebec City, Montreal, Halifax and England herself. Travel on theRead More →

Dull skies, snow dancing in the air, yep, winter has finally come to southern Ontario. In week 47, I found myself driving home from Ottawa. Having discovered this lovely scene back in September in Merreckville, Ontario. One of several communities that dot the length of the Rideau Canal. Completed in 1832 under the watchful eye of Colonel John By. The Canal, constructed to link the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario, was meant to transport military supplies and personnel away from the American guns on the US side of the St. Lawrence River. Thankfully the canal never had to be used to move troops around butRead More →