I’m going on holiday this week, to Canada 🇨🇦. I’m hoping that I will make use of this digital space to record my trip properly, and actually blog something other than sharing what I’m listening to or my inane thoughts. To begin, let’s chat about why I’m going, how I’m travelling, and what my overall plan is.

The Why

It will be 10 years since I last visited Canada. I have family over there and, as my nan has been nearing the end of her life (she’s 95 this year!), my aunts have been making the trip over here each year. My last trip was in 2015 alongside my brother. It was a fantastic trip, and we visited Vancouver and Toronto as well as my family in Edmonton. This time I’m doing practically the same trip, with a couple of changes and an extension to the city of Kingston, further up Lake Ontario.

Seeing family is always a blessing, and I’m sure I’ll be well looked after and taken on a tour to see my cousins (some of whom now have children I’ve never met). I can’t wait to see them all and catch up. After all, it could be another 10 years before I get back, and we all know life can be unpredictable.

It’s my first big holiday since the pandemic kicked off. I only went abroad for the first time since covid last year (a stag do to Portugal), so actually getting to leave the country for an extended period of time feels like a gift. There was a real sense in that first year that travel as we knew it could cease completely. Thankfully that didn’t pan out, and being able to leave this small and currently very angry island might well be good for my head and my heart.

The How

Flights will be the main mode to get me there and back. I have always wondered what a sail across the Atlantic could be like, but I haven’t got enough holiday from work for that. However, there is one section of the holiday where I am foregoing the miracle of flight and instead choo-choosing (sorry) the power of rail. Between Vancouver and Toronto I’ll be taking the four-day, 2,775-mile (4,466 km) train across the country.

I’ve been to Canada quite a few times as a child, and seen various parts of the country, but never the middle bits. Canada is so vast and the handful of towns and cities I’ve seen don’t actually do it justice. This way I get to see almost everything this beautiful country has to offer, from coast to (almost) coast. We’ll go through the Rockies, across the plains and into the urban metropolis. Places with names like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Souix Lookout will come and go. My eyes will glimpse the mountains, trees, and landscapes incomparable to home.

Due to my budget I’ve chosen to do this extremely economy. I haven’t gone for the sleeper cabin, or the prestige experience. For four nights I’ll have just a train chair to sit and sleep in. It could be hell, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. If I can camp at Glasto for a week then this should be easy. There’s no mud, I have a roof over my head, and there are no DJs on until 7am.

The What

Here’s a brief rundown of my itinerary:

Manchester → Edmonton → Vancouver → Toronto → Kingston → Toronto → Manchester

I cannot tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. To recharge, explore, and learn. It’s a privileged position to be in, and I hope that the experience will change me for the better. I’ll try to keep you all updated as it happens.