Exploring Ontario: Discoveries in and around Brantford- Grand River Experience

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• published: 10 Dec 2009
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After a delectable and nourishing vegetarian omelette at the Two Roses Bed and Breakfast in St. George, Ontario, we were ready to start our third and final day of our Brantford-area getaway. Melissa Stephens, our local tourism expert, picked us up and drove us to the quaint town of Paris where we were about to embark on our Grand River adventure. She introduced us to Jamie Kent, owner of Grand Experiences, an award-winning canoe and kayak outfitter that also offers rafting, mountainbiking, fishing expeditions, guided hikes and even corporate teambuilding. After a successful management career in the paint and chemicals industry, Jamie started his company about 10 years ago with the full support of his family. Today Grand Experiences has customers from all over the world, including Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. We started our Grand River tour in the historic town of Paris, which was first settled in 1829 and officially became incorporated as a town in 1850. Jamie explained that the town is particularly well-known for its Victorian cobblestone architecture which is highlighted by several unique historic buildings that are constructed from small rounded riverstones. Jamie put the area into context and explained that it has historically been fairly thinly populated, and the surrounding countryside is mostly used for agricultural purposes. Paris is named after plaster of Paris, due to the once plentiful gypsum deposits that were mined in the area. I also learned that the Grand River is a designated heritage river due to its historic significance. Our river guide also turned out to be an expert on the fauna and the flora of the Grand River area. As the largest river in Southwestern Ontario, the Grand has particular ecological significance as a spawning ground for many different types of cold water and warm water fish. In addition, it is part of the Carolinian forest zone which includes typically more southern plant species such as sassafras, sycamore, tulip trees, black willows, and Kentucky coffee trees. The fall colours were just starting to come in during this early October weekend, and we enjoyed the quiet tranquility of the Grand River. Jamie pointed out the primitive plaster mining shafts in the riverbank which have been abandoned for more than 150 years now. Ospreys were soaring high overhead on this beautiful day. We slowly floated by local sights such as the remains of the corduroy road, a timber log roadway that was used more than a century ago to transport the plaster alongside the river. Another major sight is Sarahs Island, a long island that is named after a native woman who made her home here during the summer months for many years until she passed away in the late 1990s. We also passed underneath the bridges of Highway 403, a fairly recently constructed highway that finally made this region more accessible to travelers from Toronto, Detroit and Buffalo. After about two hours we had finally reached our destination, the Brant Conservation Area, where our local tourist expert Melissa picked us up. Chilled to the bone we were grateful she took us to a local café in Brantford, the Blue Dog Café. We finally warmed up with a nice lunch and went on a driving tour through the historic Dufferin Avenue neighbourhood in Brantford. Given this citys history as a former industrial powerhouse, many of the factory owners and upper class residents lived in magnificent Victorian mansions, many of which are still well-preserved. After a visit to the beautiful grounds of the Glenhurst Art Gallery and Gardens, our stay in Brantford ended with a phenomenal lookout over the Grand River Valley from the Brantford Golf and Country Club. Our two-and-a-half days in Brantford had turned out to be a great action-packed getaway.