I was having a weekend in North America, and picking up a brochure in the hotel I saw that there was a small town called Campbellford, with a forest park beside it, and not only that, but the forest park had a pedestrian suspension bridge, or Hängebrucke as they are known here in Switzerland. So that was it, I was definitely going to Campbellford on the Sunday.
It was a pleasant drive out along the highway, and even more pleasant driving along route 30, through the town and around to Ferris Provincial Park. Just inside the entrance there is a small car park and the park office. There were few cars there, and the lady in the office explained that most people park at the car park farther in. When I asked could I park there outside the office, she said I could but it would cost the same. She and I reckoned that based on the park map, it would be about 2km to the other car park. So I paid the charge and started walking.
I was approaching a junction and consulting the park map when a man emerged from the trees to my left and asked if he could help. I explained that I was on my way to the suspension bridge. He said he was going that way too, and we started walking together. He explained that he was retired, lived in the town, and liked to go walking in the forest park as weather permitted. I explained that I was a tourist for the day, and I had heard about the bridge. He then explained that the mayor and town council got it built as a tourist attraction. So I offered him the thought that it had got this one tourist anyway.
And then, there it was in front of us, the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge. I have to say that it does not compare with the Swiss bridges, being just 10m above the water, and about 50m long. But it does allow you to see the beauty of the Trent River.
My fellow walker went on as I stopped on the bridge to take photos and admire the views. But then I went on towards the town. And I came almost immediately to the Trent-Severn Canal. The canal was built between 1833 and 1920 to allow quite sizeable vessels to navigate between Georgian bay on the eastern side of Lake Huron and Lake Ontario to the south, thus bypassing both Lake Erie and the Niagara Falls. These days it is more for recreational use, and to allow management of water levels in the Great Lakes system. The locks on the canal are certainly impressive. And the canal also provides an amenity for Campbellford. After crossing over the canal, I turned to go into the town.
The canal bank walk is a pleasant one, and provides testimony to the nature of the town. At one point was a sculpted flower which someone had decorated with a few real flowers. Beside a seat was the “Canal Bank Library”, a nicely decorated repository for books. I could imagine whiling away an hour or two there in the sunshine. And there is the “Erratic”: a large stone of about 12 tons that geologically simply shouldn’t be there. It was carried by the ice in glacial times, and ended up in Campbellford. I can think of worse places to end up.
But the most famous sight along the canal bank is the Toonie Monument. Not being Canadian, I had to look up what a Toonie is. It is perhaps better known that the Canadian one dollar coin is called a loon because the design features a bird of that name. So, to fit in with that, the Canadian two dollar coin became the toon, and then toonie. The designer of the coin, Brent Townsend, came from Campbellford. The monument takes the form of a giant replica of the coin. And believe it or not, people come to see this monument!
My walk then took me back across the river and up Bridge Street. I took the time to check out the two buildings with bell towers: the fire station and the town hall, before going back to my route and Bridge Street.
Turning right onto Centre Street, and again onto Second Street brought me to The World’s Finest Chocolate Company. Well, with a name like that, and being slightly puckish at this stage, I just had to try some. And I can honestly say it is very good. Whether it really is the world’s finest I cannot tell, but they seem to be doing their best to live up to their name.
From there my route took me onto Saskatoon Avenue, going south past where the canal and river divide. I followed the river path, coming to the Ranney Falls. Niagara it ain’t! But that somehow seems in keeping with the town.
From the falls, I walked back to the suspension bridge, and back to my car. Altogether, it was a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday in a pleasant part of Canada.
And the step count for the day was a modest 19,367. It’s not as many as some of my walks, but sometimes slowing down and taking it easy is good too.
Walkingman 