Located within Algonquin Park, Canoe Lake is where I spent quite a bit of my time. I could have spent all my time there, never getting tired of the warmth of the morning sun on the dock, twinkling across the wake of some daytripper, or the late night call of the Loons, the only thing to break the stillness… apart from the occasional mad dash of bevvied up folk from the sauna to the water!

As I said, my delectable hostess has a cottage in the park, on Canoe Lake. There are many lakes within the park as a whole, the whole place is massive! It is remote and relaxing. Highway 400 is jammed bumper to bumper every Friday as Canadians escape to their Cottage Life – which is also the name of a magazine fuelling the getaway.

Cottage life, much like Canadian summer life, seems to revolve a great deal around beer, steak and corn (yes, that is a c). This suits me down to the ground! The place is truly tranquil. Apart from the odd 20hp (lake limit) motorboat fetching the messages, the steady clank of rookie canoe paddle on boat becomes gently rhythmic. A typical day might involve a morning swim, a bit of an explore, a moose spot, bbq dinner, late night sauna and dive, plus a couple of shandies.

Part of a visit focused on the artist Tom Thomson, who died (some/most say mysteriously) at Canoe Lake. He had painted a lot of his work in Algonquin Park. There is a totem pole located at his favourite camp site. There is also an official grave, underneath one of the few surviving beech trees. Although the area looks total wilderness, it used to be big logging business, developed, industrialised. But now, happily, most signs of that have gone, along with the original tree populace. Thomson was enthralled with the park, his life and death have spawned many further works.

My last night in Canada was spent at the lake and it was an absolute blast. After feasting on a fine bbq beer chicken, we partook of a few rounds of ‘shoes, journeyed to a neighbours cottage – to use his superior sauna – and I perfected the classic European export, axe throwing, coining the catchphrase, “great axe!”. Bring on the bears! Late night wine fuelled sauna was followed by perfect diving into the lake. Repeat. This was just outstanding.