From Coronation Street to Canada: The show's stars take a whirlwind Ontario tour
It's strange but true, Coronation Street is massive in Canada. We were there for a tour of shows around Ontario, telling stories of our characters in the show – Eileen and Paul – and the Corrie cobbles.
It only seemed right then, after a week of waxing lyrical about Weatherfield, that we took off to explore one of Canada's largest provinces. We went in search of adventure, to recharge our batteries and indulge our passion for food and wine – and started at one of Ontario's crown jewels, the incredible Niagara Falls.
Natural beauty: A rainbow stretches over the famous Niagara Falls
There is something humbling about the power of the Falls and despite the noise, mist and constant lashing, it is compelling.
From the Falls, we moved downstream 20 minutes to the genteel charm of Niagara On The Lake, a picture-perfect town famed for some of Canada's great theatre, old world feel and fantastic wineries.
Had we not set ourselves a strict itinerary, we could still be ambling from vineyard to vineyard now, not just tasting the iconic ice-wine – a dessert wine from grapes that have been frozen while on the vine – but drinking our way through Ontario's hidden gems: their great reds and whites.
Knee-wobbling: Toronto's iconic CN Tower
We ate and sampled as much as we could at the wineries of Peller and Inniskillin. The tasting menu at Peller was divine and drinking the glorious Inniskillin Vidal ice-wine as we sat among the vines on which it grew will live long in our memory.
Alas, we had to leave to dive headfirst into the wonderful, multicultural city of Toronto. Canada's largest city sits on the shore of the mighty Lake Ontario. It has all a big city has to offer – huge skyscrapers, sports spectacles with the Blue Jays baseball and Maple Leafs hockey teams and a world-class art collection in the Art Gallery of Ontario.
But Toronto is far from a hubbub, it's unbelievably calm and clean and relaxed. So, there we were for two fun-filled nights of cosmopolitan life including the knee-wobbling trip to the top of the CN Tower.
We gorged on sublime cod's tongues at Rodney's Oyster Bar and drank Canada's finest contribution to cocktail culture, the Caesar – vodka, spice and clamato (a mix of salty clam broth and reconstituted tomato juice).
Everyone claimed to make the best one and recipes included pickled beans, shrimp, oysters and one with a rasher of bacon.
Having sampled so many, we declare the version made at The Sheraton Hotel in Hamilton the best. We also became experts on poutine, a street dish of chips, gravy and cheese curds. Alongside Betty's hotpot, chips and gravy is a Weatherfield staple and to find it in such abundance 3,500 miles from home was very welcome.
Cheers: Sue and Tony, seated right, visit the Inniskillin winery where they sampled ice-wine
From Toronto, we jumped aboard the fantastic Via Rail train to head north east to Canada's capital, Ottawa. It's smallish, dominated by the government buildings and all the trappings of offices and suits that come with it. However, again it's pristine, and great to explore on foot, which was lucky because it was Rib Fest during our visit.
The streets were thick with hickory smoke and a brisk walk was just what was needed to burn off more excess. The food in Murray Street market was fantastic and made us desperate to buy, go home and cook.
Fortunately though, we found Whalesbone on the corner of Gladstone and Bank, a small bar and restaurant specialising in Canadian seafood. We had oysters washed down with Ontario riesling. But the revelation was spicy clams, deep-fried in beer batter in their shells – possibly the greatest bar snack we'd ever sunk our teeth into, albeit very carefully.
Breathtaking beauty: Algonquin National Park offers complete isolation, silence and beauty
The following day – with heavy heads and hearts – we set off for the four-hour drive north east to Algonquin National Park. As we approached and started to take in the breathtaking beauty of the trees, our heads began to clear and our hearts soared.
They positively skipped several beats when we arrived at our lakeside accommodation of Arowhon Pines – a remote setting of luxury log cabins deep in the wilderness. Here, we took a canoe and disappeared into complete isolation, silence and beauty.
Its effect after a week of Weatherfield-fuelled madness was hypnotic. We paddled and drifted and sat and stared. Without a care or witnessing another soul, its beauty was beyond words and the peace beyond anything either of us has ever found. Ontario provided us with several holidays in one. And, if you go, can you get us some clamato juice? After such an incredible holiday, we need a Caesar.
Getting there
Collette Worldwide Holidays (www.colletteworldwide.com, 0800 804 8701) offers a nine-day escorted tour, The Best Of Eastern Canada from £2,399pp including four-star accommodation, flights, most meals and a tour manager. Great Rail (greatrail.com) offers a 17-day 'Canada Coast to Coast' journey from Vancouver to Halifax from £3,765 including return flights and most meals. Visit ontariotravel.net/uk for more information.
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