Oak Ridges trail guidebook: a hiking trail along the Oak Ridges moraine

Spring is in the air. Time to get outside and investigate as birds return, shoots begin to appear and nature, once again, turns green.

Inside this guidebook, you will you find trail descriptions with scale maps for the 280 km of trail maintained by the Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA), a history of the Moraine and it’s inhabitants, a trail user’s guide as well as trail safety recommendations.

The hikes also reveal some hidden history.  Along 16th Sideroad between Jane and Keele you will see an entry point for one such area. Starting at Pine Farms (point of interest 11) on ORTA Map 2 is a trail that leads to a site which was once the country property of Henry Pellatt, original owner of Casa Loma in Toronto. As you walk the trail you will see a historic brick barn (point of interest 15) once owned by Pellatt as well as the vista across Mary Lake (point of interest 14), a kettle lake, formed when the glaciers retreated.

Check out the ORTA website for scheduled group hikes.

I admit I’m easily swayed by a British period piece; as per usual it was the cover of Deanna Raybourn’s “Silent in the Grave” that caught my eye.  But don’t let just a pretty dress sway your opinion, this book is an engaging Victorian mystery with a wee bit of Romance thrown in for good measure.

The book begins with the death of Lady Julia Grey’s husband (someone she admits she did not truly know or love) and later involves her enlisting the help of the mysterious and alluring private investigator Nicholas Brisbane.  As per the usual clichés of this genre, there is a growing attraction between the two, but solving the mystery takes the stage front and centre.

Although I had a pretty strong suspicion of “who done it,” the plot driven action (and lush descriptions of Victorian England) kept me glued until the end.  Even better, if you *do* get hooked, Silent in the Grave is the first in a series!