Townsman, 1991-09, Page 15o time holds as much
delight for the walker in
Western Ontario as
autumn. The air is crisp, making the
warmth produced by the exercise wel-
come, instead of something to be
avoided during the hot summer. The
pesky mosquitoes and black flies arc
gone leaving only the creaking of the
cricket or the butterflies floating like
feathers on the breeze. There's a feel-
ing you want to soak up as much of
the outdoors as possible and save the
memories for the cold days ahead
when your greatest desire is just to
snuggle up by the fire.
Yes, there arc many people in
western Ontario who like to walk,
even if it sometimes seems the majori-
ty of the population must have been
conceived in the back seat of a car
because of people's umbilical attach-
ment to their automobile for the rest
of their lives.
Some people care enough about
walking that they have worked to set
up trails like the Avon Trail from
Conestoga to St. Marys or the Mait-
land Trail, from Godcrich to Auburn.
These are trails that have been set up
by groups of individuals whose inter-
est in hiking brought them together to
organize trails through some of the
most scenic parts of our countryside.
They made arrangements with
landowners, blazed the trails, sct up
stiles over fences and set up a system
of captains to maintain the trails.
There are many other trails that
have been set up by conservation
authorities and other government bod-
ies to preserve our natural landscape
and try to lure us back from our
increasingly urban lifestyles to see
what the natural world is like.
The following is a listing of some
of the interesting autumn walks you
might like to take. The information
was compiled from literature provided
by conservation authorities and oth-
ers. In a part of the country as lovely
as ours, we're sure that there are many
more bcauty spots but this list may
tempt you to put on a sensible pair of
shots and savour the beauty of the
outdoors before it's too late.
he Avon Trail is proba-
bly the longest trail in
the western Ontario
region, starting out on the bank of the
Conestoga River at Conestoga, and
meandering generally southwest past
Kitchener -Waterloo, on across the
Nith River and down the valley of the
Avon, skirting Stratford (there is a
branch runs right into Stratford and
along the shore of Lake Victoria
below the Stratford Festival) and on
down�to Wildwood and on to St.
Marys.
s.
Connections can be made from the
Avon Trail to Thames Valley Trail at
St. Marys, taking you the rest of the
way to London and at the north, hik-
ers can link up with the Grand Valley
Trail. In fact a serious hiker can leave
London and hike all the way to
Tobermory or Niagara Falls through
the connected trail systems.
Most autumn colour seekers
haven't got anything so exhausting in
mind, however and the Avon trail is
divided into various sections that are
more manageable bits.
For instance, Section 4, between
the Perth -Waterloo County Line and
Amurlee provides a rolling woodland
setting that in summer provides a cool
respite and in fall, provides opportuni-
ties for colourful walk through woods.
The section begins along a gravel
road that leads the walker to a rural
cemetery. From there, the trail gocs
along the field edges until it comes
suddenly upon a forested tract. From
there the trail moves along a farm lane
and the busy rush of County Rd. 15
can be felt before the trail turns just
before the hamlet of Amurlee to wind
through grazing cattle, ambling often
into a cedar -covered area. There the
remains of a cabin built in the early
1930's can be found— and impressive
chimney surrounded by maple and
coniferous trees. The section ends
when the trail comes to another con-
cession road. The total length of this
section is about five miles.
Information on the Avon Trail can
be obtained by writing to : The Avon
Trail, P.O. Box 346, Stratford.
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PICNIC AREA
Bannockburn offers a
variety of scenery in short walk.
Probably the easiest way to get there
is to take Huron County Rd. 3 from
Brucefield to Varna. Bannockburn is
on the second concession on your
right.
There arc six different natural com-
munities at Bannockburn: wct mead-
ow, white cedar, Bannockburn River,
deciduous forest, old field and mixed
scrub and marsh. The large variety of
habitat allows a diversified wildlife
population .
The trail at Bannockburn leads
annockburn Wildlife
Management Arca is the
site of an annual colour
tour sponsored by the Ausable-Bay-
field Conservation Authority.
This year's tour takes place on Sun-
day, Oct.. 20 from 2-4 p.m. Bannock-
burn is located between Clinton,
Bayfield and Varna, off the fourth and
fifth concession of Stanley Township.
TOWNSMAN/SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1991 13