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Yep, it’s another foody place! This time though, we’re not talking about a huge chain – this time its a single restaurant! The Sunset Grill in Gravenhurst, Muskoka.
By all accounts it was a generally miserable day weather wise, and we’d been to the Muskoka Store and it had more or less been raining continuously for a day. This is not normal weather for this part of weather.. grey skies may be common sight in Britain, but generally days of rain and cloud is not the norm here.. We’d gone to Gravenhurst to have a look around – and you’ll see a more general article on Gravenhurst in the next couple of months, but basically its a town built on the edge of a lake. Here on the wharf – with a car park right next to it is the Sunset Grill.

This is where we had lunch. If you head in – I’d recommend the Coffee, it was fantastic and with the added bonus of free refills its worth every penny! The menu has many classics – such as the BLT – or if you wanted to go for something more traditionally Canadian you could have the pea meal bacon on a bun. These sandwiches come served on a plate with veggy sticks (of cucumber and carrot), along with a separate dip, and a separate dressing for your sandwich. I had the BLT and it really was worth having – I’d recommend it to you – but .. what i liked the most? One of us couldn’t finish the Pea meal Bacon in a bun.. well there was my chance! Not only was the pea meal bacon cooked perfectly, it was really tender and thickly cut. The bread cake/bun was really soft – and of coarse it came with the veggy sticks and condiments. (more…)

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Well, i decided to break the recent double up of foody articles and include another article on the amasing Algonquin Park. I’ll say again what i always seem to say – and that should you be reading this as the first article you’ve seen about this Provincial Park, do not underestimate the size and sheer number of things to do in this place. The first time i went to Algonquin Park was in 2009 and we expected (having not done much research) the park to be similar to a UK national park such as the peak district.. but we were very wrong!
The park has many places of interest on the main route in the south, highway 60, especially trails you can go on. Just remember if you’re going to park up anywhere in Algonquin Provincial Park, you’ll need to pull up at the gates (big buildings just off the side of the road either end of Highway 60) and go in to get a Permit. These are $15.00 currently but the rates do change depending on the year.

The Trail this article is focusing on is the Peck Lake Trail.

Make sure you’ve picked up one of the Algonquin park news papers while you’re getting a permit, they’re free and they’re very .. VERY useful to use the map on the back so you know where you are going!

Before you go on any of these trails, remember to have brought with you, proper walking equipment – for example decent walking shoes with a good degree of tread, and comfortable clothes suitable for what ever the weather may be on the day you go on the trail. Another thing you’ll want to factor in is the bugs! If it’s forecast to be warm, chances are you’ll be up against the Mosquitoes and or Black Fly – so bring your bug repellent!

Peck Lake Trail is a 2.3 kilometre loop starting on Highway 60, 19.2km from West Gate of Algonquin Park. The trail takes you right around Peck Lake. The trail is of Medium difficulty, mainly due to the uneven and steep inclines you have to walk up and down. There are some fairly steep drops right by the path as well so make sure you have good footware on so you reduce risks of slipping. Remember to pick up one of the trail guides that you will find in the initial sign at the start of the trail. If you know you wish to keep the trail guide as a souvenir then put $0.50 into the pipe that is located right below it. Alternatively, you can always do this when you’ve completed your walk (or deposit the guide back in the small ‘letter boxes’ under the sign.
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One of our earliest articles on Canada Trip was about Muskoka Wildlife Centre, and left as a comment by Suzie Q was a recommendation to go check out Walter Page’s Muskoka Store, so that’s exactly what we did!

This year’s first trip to Canada was different to previous trips as we seemed to have a whole variety of weather.. From bright hot sunny days of temperatures in the mid twenties right the way to snowflakes falling and settling over night, it all seemed to happen this last trip! It was on one of the more wet days that we happened to be passing here.. In fact it had been raining solid for over a day, but that didn’t make any difference to our experience of this fantastic store.

If you are driving north, passing Muskoka Wildlife Centre on your right, you’ll begin seeing signs on your right telling you how much further it is to the Muskoka Store, and with its large signs beside the road and its distinctive black and white log cabin style building you’ll find it difficult to miss, just remember to be in the right lane on the highway and start slowing down as soon as you see it as you pull straight off the highway into their large car park!

When you walk into the first part of the store, it had, on the day we went in, the feel of a garden centre, the feeling that sure, it’s a Store but you get the idea there’s much more there than it first appears.. And that’s exactly what you find out, turning left and walking down the corridor you step through a door and find yourself immersed in the cozy comfy environment of a cottage, a cottage that’s seen everything and been there for years – and so accumulated many mementos of its past.. the only difference is, almost all of it is for sale.

The store has been designed well, selling just about anything you’d ever want, especially if you happen to have a cottage in Muskoka! If you haven’t, that’s fine too – the store has a massive selection of gifts – so if you were stuck wondering what you may buy friends and family as mementos from Canada, or maybe you want to treat yourself, your almost sure of finding something you’ll want in this store! .. I certainly did!

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Another of those quick micro articles, i spotted on Canada Travel’s website, it’s a special deal – a package holiday where you get to enjoy the diversity of Ottawa, a metropolitan city and of course the nations capital, and the picturesque setting of the Deerhurst Resort in Ontario’s Muskoka region situated west of Ottawa . Your accommodation in Ottawa is at the majestic Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

Yep that’s right! Huntsville, that’s very close to Muskoka Wildlife Centre – so remember to check our Muskoka articles if you’re thinking about heading off this way!

The price is £1069 sharing twin incl flights, 5 nights accommodation and car rental
First staying in Ottawa, located in eastern Ontario on the banks of the magestic Ottawa River – Then travelling to Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Ontario.
Daily departures are available though Pricing shown is based on travel in November. Read More for package details:
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While visiting Canada, if you’re in the Muskoka region, why not take a trip to a place where you can see for yourself what things used to be like before the world of modern life crept into the area?

Muskoka Heritage Place is a trip back in time to an authentic pioneer village – all fully furnished genuine muskoka buildings including General Store, Church, Inn, Barn, Blacksmith Shop, dwellings and a trapper’s cabin. You will also find a First Nations’ Museum Exhibit & Encampment, the Muskoka Museum, Costumed Narrators, Farm Animals and Gardens and hands on demonstrations! If you’ve been to Beamish Open air museum in the UK, this place is a smaller version of that style of attraction, all based around a time gone by in Muskoka, Ontario. (more…)

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While visiting Juni (our adopted raccoon, if you didn’t know already) at Muskoka Wildlife Centre, I saw a stand with some leaflets on, one of them was initially what I thought to be simply a flyer to let people know all the places they could visit while visiting the Muskoka area, but what it actually was – was a way to see more in Muskoka and save while doing it!

So here’s what it’s about: (more…)

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Hey there everyone! I’m doing this smaaall article from Canada since i thought it’d be a fairly good idea to put up a lil info about what we’ve been up to!

Algonquin Provincial Park

Now, we’ve been busy, we always are – and now we find ourselves specifically hunting out and descovering places to tell you about, and we sure have done that! – places we’ve been so far this week include Bancroft, Algonquin park (and wow did we underestimate what was on offer there!), Muskoka Wildlife Centre, Kirkfield Lift Lock, New market, Orillia and of coarse the beach near Bolsover, Lake Simcoe. (more…)

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If you’re in the Lake Simcoe area in the summer time, one place you really must visit is the Muskoka Wildlife Centre. The centre fashions its self on being not a zoo, but an ‘interactive learning centre’.  I’ve been there twice, and will be looking forward to visiting once more in august of this year.

It’s situated 20 minutes north of Orillia, Ontario or 10 minutes south of Gravenhurst, Ontario on HWY 11 North – so if you’re travelling north you’ll see it on your right, and if you’re travelling south it’ll be on your left. You’ll spot it by their large sign by the side of the road.

Muskoka Wildlife Centre's sign on highway 11.

The Centre offers a glimpse at the wonderful world of Ontario wildlife in and around the Muskoka region- you’ll get to see all the native species such as the Raccoon, Wolves, Skunks, Moose, Bald Eagles, North American Badgers, Porcupines, a Brown Bear, Lynx, Bobcat, Cougar and a whole lot more – a definite must if you want your kids are interested in wildlife, or even for you!

The park is not just set in a typical open area with fences and paths. It’s set in a beautiful setting, in a small wooded area with meandering paths which go up and down small hills – making your trip more exciting and more of an adventure as you walk about the park on carefully signposted tracks hunting for your next enclosure.

But there’s more than simply animals just to look at – as i mentioned earlier, the centre classes its self as being interactive, and that is certainly the case – if you are not told by the kind people when you pay your admission ~ ask them when the next handling is. You will get to meet a variety of different animals from skunks, raccoons, ground hogs and some snakes  – though the animals you meet will depend on which animals are available for handling when you visit. This allows yourself and your kids to get a hands on experience – finding out – how do some types of animals actually feel like – is the fur on a skunk super fluffy – or is it more coarse? I’ll leave it up to you to find out!

Please read on to see a gallery of photos and to read more about this must see location:

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