DESTINATIONS CANADA | CHURCHILL
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Lazy Bear’s Arctic Crawler; summer tundra; Prince of Wales Fort PICTURES: Deb Ransom; Travel Manitoba/Thomas Fricke
bear safety centre, all in one. The polar bear ‘jail’ (officially
the Polar Bear Holding Facility) is another example of how life here differs; polar bear patrols safely capture and release any bears found in town. In fact, local children who go trick-or-treating at Halloween will walk in a group, surrounded by a team. In peak polar bear season, visitors are wise to heed safety signs and not go walking where bears may wander.
BEAR NECESSITIES In the area around Churchill, clients can also go husky-sledding (dog mushing) in summer, and explore the tundra on specially designed tundra vehicles. Each company or lodge has its own trademarked brand; we’re on Lazy Bear’s Arctic Crawlers, giant caravan-esque vehicles with monster tyres, perfect for combing the now-green tundra and appreciating the remoteness and vastness of the Churchill
66 23 JANUARY 2020
33The community centre is a library, hospital, theatre, gym, hockey arena, curling rink, pool, school and polar bear safety centre
Wildlife Management Area. While everyone’s looking out for polar bears, it’s worth looking among the wildflowers for more likely summer sightings such as Arctic hares and foxes. Churchill’s whimsical nature is nicely exemplified by Miss Piggy. When a freight plane crashed over town in 1979, it would have cost a lot to have removed the wreckage – so it remained in situ. Since then the wreck, known as Miss Piggy because its cargo was made up of
pigs, has become a famous sight. Worth a visit are the Northern Studies Centre field station, on the site of the former Churchill Rocket Research Range, and Fort Churchill at Cape Merry, for its spectacular bay views. Boat trips also visit the Prince of Wales Fort, built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1700s, when the English and French were battling for the lucrative fur trade. One evening, we sail into the bay on the lodge’s vessel, named after 18th-century explorer Sam Hearne. Beluga whales splash about below us while Arctic terns
BOOK IT
Prestige Holidays offers a seven-day itinerary including Winnipeg-Churchill flights, two nights in Winnipeg, four nights at Lazy Bear Lodge in Churchill, all breakfasts, one dinner, and four guided tours in Churchill. Prices start at £3,458, excluding international flights.
prestigeholidays.co.uk
Cox & Kings, Canadian Affair, Kuoni, First Class Holidays and Hayes & Jarvis also feature summer trips to Churchill.
travelweekly.co.uk
fly above – it’s idyllic. Then there’s a hushed, excited gasp. On the rocks is a mother polar bear with a cub. They seem unbothered or unaware of us, padding about the cliffs. For most of us, it’s our first polar bear sighting. We photograph and watch the pair for what feels like hours, before they head slowly out of sight. Later, over a beer at the Tundra Inn, the town’s only standalone pub, we can’t stop talking about it. We saw the holy trinity of bears, belugas and birds – and summertime Churchill was the place.
TW
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