Ahhh beautiful Lake Louise, quite possibly one of the most well known lakes in the whole of Canada! We have all seen a picture before, whether we have realised it or not, and quite rightly so. Located north of Banff, still within Banff National Park, Lake Louise is a glacial lake located conveniently near to the Trans Canadian Highway.

Depending on what time of year you travel, you will get very different experiences of this lake. If, like us, you travel during spring, you can enjoy a bit of both. On arrival at the lake around 9:30am (get there early to beat the crowds!), I was disappointed to find the lake completely frozen. The reason for my disappointment? The whole time we were in Canada it was unseasonably warm, and my stupid self did not even realise such big lakes could even freeze over like that! Oh how I have clearly lived a sheltered and warm life… Sadly my dreams of canoeing across the lake and enjoying a romantic picnic surrounded by glistening waters and mountains did not come true, however, not all hope was lost.

Yes it was frozen when we first arrived, but you can still appreciate the views, they were just different to what I first expected. In fact, after a couple of hours I was quite glad of it.

We had a look at the many trails around the lake and we picked the trail that headed up to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes, I had no clue at the time what either of this would entail. Now I know I said it had been unseasonably warm, but the ground less walked was still extremely frozen. This meant an uphill walk on a sheet of ice, there was no one else around and Alex and I looked at each other as if to say ‘are we stupid for doing this?’, we assumed we would either be eaten by a bear or we would slip and fall to our untimely deaths. If you look at your companion, or yourself, then all I can tell you is persevere, we survived!! And we finally found human life as we climbed further.

If you are considering trying this trail, you can find it pretty easily, it starts at the front of the lake near the Fairmont Chateau Hotel. I’ll warn you now, the first part of the walk is fairly steep and you will find yourself amongst a lot of trees with not much else to look at, Alex and I almost turned back. Please carry on, once you get past the straight path you will turn a sharp corner and you will wind your way up further into the forest, you will then stumble upon Mirror Lake.

Now I imagine Mirror Lake is called this because of its jaw dropping reflections, but of course it was completely frozen over when Alex and I turned up. But that’s okay, we sat on a tree trunk and admired the view, catching our breath back. Even just this first stop was worth the climb.

I imagine in summer the next part is much easier, however we then fought our way through thick snow. My advice is tread where you can see footprints, or you will end up butt deep in a snow drift. I can’t tell you how many snow holes I fell down, it reached a point I was getting very aggy, in fact, Alex had to walk ahead so he didn’t have to listen to my whining.

Higher and higher we went, until I felt like we were in the clouds. ‘This was totally worth it’ I said to Alex, not sure he heard me seeing as he was about 10 ft in front of me and was suffering from a severe case of selective hearing that day. You reach a point on this walk where you will find yourself above the trees, and if you are lucky like ourselves, you will have the whole place to yourself, overlooking the stunning Bow Valley.

After snapping away we made the final stretch to Lake Agnes, I fell through a few more snow drifts, found a waterfall, then clamped my eyes on the final target. If you are travelling in summer season, you will be glad to know there is a gorgeous little tea room up here selling hot drinks and scones. If, like us, you are travelling out of season, it will be closed… luckily I had 10 Malteasers in my backpack to stop me passing out from hunger and general unfitness!

My belly really was playing on my mind, I needed lunch and I knew it would take over an hour to get back down to Lake Louise, so sadly we didn’t hang around too long. It took around 2 hours to get from the bottom of Lake Louise up to Lake Agnes, this will be shorter in summer, and going down was a whole new experience.

I’ll tell you what, it is amazing what 5 Malteasers can do to your mood and energy (I gave the other 5 to Alex, I am such a great wife). Off we trotted down the mountain side with a whole new lease of life, in fact, I would recommend everyone who plans on doing this walk to pack a bag of Malteasers (Mars should totally pay me for this!!). I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard in my life, watching my husband slide his way down a mountain through snow and ice, hanging onto trees for dear life, in a pair of shorts! To give him credit it wasn’t just him making a mess of it, I am pretty sure I nearly fell on my bum atleast 20 times, but we laughed our way through it.

For the fools (like me) who didn’t pack a packed lunch, the hotel on the lake, the Fairmont, has a great deli, and this also gives visitors a chance to have a snoop at the hotel itself – it’s pretty grand!

All fuelled up and ready to hit the actual lake walk. For those that don’t want to skid their way up the side of Lake Louise, there is a gentle path that follows the side of the lake. It’s a good old walk but much easier on the calf muscles! By this point it was mid afternoon and as the sun had been shining all morning, the lake was melting…fast!

So is Lake Louise all it’s cracked up to be? Yes it is, as long as you look past the large amounts of fellow visitors! Many people just turn up, snap a photo then leave. However, I would highly recommend setting aside an entire day to appreciate one of Canada’s most beautiful spots and trying out some of the many trails.

Awe-inspiring views, crystal clear lakes, mountain roads, log cabins and some of the world’s most beautiful climbs, it can only be one place right? Yes, the Canadian Rockies.

Choosing Canada for a holiday was definitely not a hard decision, I used to be a travel agent and that is where my need to visit the Rockies came from. I created numerous itineraries for clients that wanted to take a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer, one of the world’s most famous rail journeys.

So I haven’t quite reached my goal of riding the Rocky Mountaineer, but Alex and I have just completed an incredible journey, starting in Calgary, ending on Vancouver Island.

Apart from a short stay in Calgary, Banff was our first destination. Just an hour and a half from Calgary International Airport, this, along with Canmore, is one of the easiest towns to visit in the Canadian Rockies. Whilst Canmore is technically not in the national park, it is right on the perimeter so I will include it all the same!

Banff National Park as I stated earlier is relatively easier to access, we drove in on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1), in order to enter the park (unless you are driving through and not stopping) you must purchase a Parcs ticket. This park ticket also provides access to the surrounding parks such as Yoho and Jasper, it cost us $136 for 6 days, which when you think about all the upkeep of the park, it is pretty reasonable. Day passes are also available for $90.

The park was established in 1885, making it Canada’s first National Park, it encompasses 6,641 square kilometres of beautiful, mountainous terrain. Tourism in Banff has become hugely popular, especially during the summer months, as well as the peak winter period for skiing. We found that May is a great time to visit as the weather was pleasant the whole way through. Whilst we would start the mornings in trousers and a big coat, by lunchtime we would be in our shorts and t-shirts. Avoiding the crowds was a big thing for us, we also saved a lot of money by travelling outside of the peak season, the only downside is that many lakes are still partially or fully frozen, we were unable to see Moraine Lake as the road was still closed from winter.

Our first stop was Canmore, a pretty mountain town filled with both tourists and locals, the streets are lined with cafes, restaurants and shops, and the whole town is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery. From here we headed up towards the Grassi Lakes, an easy and fairly short hike uphill to two stunning crystal clear lakes. In comparison to other lakes around Banff, Grassi Lakes are relatively small, however, they are just as beautiful and this turned out to be one of my favourite places on the trip.

The drive to Banff gets more and more beautiful the further you go, and the actual town itself is a great shopping, eating and social destination. Not many people realise Banff was originally a town in which the park was named after, I would recommend staying here for a few days to get a feel for the place. Most sights within the national park are accessible from Banff itself, so spend a few days here and you will get lots ticked off!

The Johnston Canyon, another of our favourite spots, is just 40 minutes from the heart of Banff and in my opinion, is one of the park’s most underrated spots. There is an easy trail that takes a gentle climb from the carpark, the path is enough to fit 2-3 people wide and is paved a large portion of the way. This trail loops up to the lower falls, and for those who want to go further, the upper falls (I would highly recommend doing this). From the bottom of the trail to the top of the falls is a distance of about 2.7km, if you are still not tired then you can travel a further few km to the ink pots, several cold mineral springs that bubble.

For those who don’t want to or are unable to travel outside of Banff town centre, there is the Bow Falls Trail that you can reach easily on foot in around 20-25 minutes with minimal elevation. The falls aren’t the most spectacular in the park but they are pretty and you get a good view of the famous Banff Springs Hotel too!

Our final day in Banff was spent at Lake Louise, but that deserves a post to itself…

It’s always good when you have a friend who understands your strange addiction to chocolate box villages, thatched cottages and afternoon tea. After looking at the weather forecast this week I decided Wednesday was the last day I could enjoy a walk around in the sun before the temperature dropped. So we packed our bags, packed up Baby Evelyn and set off to Tesco to buy some bits and bobs for a picnic.

First stop Houghton Mill, an 18th-century working watermill, one that was almost demolished then saved by the locals. The mill has now been fully restored and has been working for over 1,000 years.

Houghton Mill is run by the National Trust and is the perfect spot for a picnic in the sun, with a large patch of grassy area overlooking the mill, and lots of people like to take a dip in the water in the summer!

After our picnic we took a stroll over the meadow to Hemingford Abbots, a small village in which a settlement dates all the way back to the Roman times.

Hemingford Abbots appeared in the Domesday Book as Emingeforde and came under the Hundred of Toseland in Huntingdonshire, by 1086 there was already a church here and a priest. There were 96 dwellings in 1250, this fell during the Black Death then grew to a population of 306 in 1801, peaking at 628 in 1961.

Back in Domesday times, Hemingford Abbots was joined with the neighbouring settlement, Hemingford Grey as a single estate, before being split apart in the 19th-century. Just a two minute cross along the River Great Ouse and you will find yourself in Hemingford Grey…

Hemingford Grey was given its name in 1276 by the de Grey family, the village manor (one of the oldest inhabited in England) built around 1140 was seized from the family by Henry VII after George Grey 2nd Earl of Kent could not repay his debts. The manor was late leased to the Great-grandfather of Oliver Cromwell!

After buying some water and sweets from the local shop we headed back through Hemingford Abbots to Houghton.

Houghton was recently named as one of the “Best Places to Live in the east” by The Sunday Times and I can see why. The village is a picture-perfect postcard, just how you would imagine rural Britain, with a sprinkling of thatched cottages base around a village green on the edge of a meadow.

I could stay in Houghton forever but alas it was time to go home, of course taking a quick stop at the hamlet of Wennington along the way…