Tag Archives: Saskatchewan

Coast to coast by train.

Canada is another epic train journey for me. I will travel from Vancouver to Halifax before I leave Canada for the US next month. Half way across and I have left the Pacific Ocean and passed through the magnificence of the Rockies, journeying into the vastness of the prairies. For this stretch of my trip I am also fortunate to be supported by Via Rail who have organised my train travel.

A sad farewell to the mountains, Louise Kenward (2014)

Dawn on the train, waking up to a new landscape, Louise Kenward (2014)

This is one of the trips that, in making and discussing my plans, many people told me, was a trip they too would like to take. On the train there are many people travelling from Vancouver to Toronto, often combining it with the Rocky Mountaineer and an Alaskan cruise. Certainly the cruise is something I would like to come back for, with chance to see the incredible Alaskan coastline, wildlife and Northern Lights. It seems a shame that so many people make so few stops beyond Vancouver though, there is so much of Canada and all so varied, yet it does not seem to be travelled as much as you’d think. Saskatchewan has just one hostel for instance, in Regina. The first night there I was the only person in the 8 bed dorm. It is not served well by public transport either which makes it trickier to negotiate too. Nonetheless I have been able to navigate my way to Bexhill, and am looking forward to the rest of my journey across Canada.

Train travel through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

It's a new day, it's a new dawn... (Louise Kenward, 2014)

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day… (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Nothing beats waking up to the early light to peak out the window and discover the new landscape awaiting. This journey will also take my total time travelled by train to almost a month from the start of my trip last September. I have already travelled through three time zones and such contrasting scenery as might be possible. During my time in Regina (capital of Saskatchewan, one of two) I have learned that there were previously mountains in Saskatchewan…and that they were blown away. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is another wonderful museum, Canada certainly is good at museums. Focussed on the natural world, it gives a lovely overview of the history of the area and how it has evolved through time. From being under water and host to various sea life, to home to the dinosaurs, the impact of the ice age and the role of the glaciers in forming the prairies we see today. There are also galleries devoted to the First Nations. In Assiniboia it was the Assiniboin tribe who were native to the region of Bexhill and surrounds. So called after their unique cooking method, using hot stones to heat water and bake food. As in Australia this is not an entirely resolved relationship. Although a little more time has passed and a number of apologies have been made.

Travelling by train through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

Travelling through Canada by train, Louise Kenward (2014)

Travelling through Canada by train from the comfort of a cabin, Louise Kenward (2014)

Prairie country, Louise Kenward (2014)

This is the land of Sitting Bull, the Cyprus Hills and many other stories that seem of folklore before I arrived. I have more to find out and learn…

Bexhill, Canada (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Bexhill, Saskatchewan

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Bexhill, Saskatchewan (Louise Kenward, 2014)

The reason Bexhill is here at all is the train line. In 1912 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) extended the railway line to just outside of a town called Leeville which promptly changed it’s name and moved to link to the line. The town became Assiniboia, which recently celebrated its centenary. Some time later the CPR built track south of the town and grain elevators were built to enable farmers to transport their harvest more efficiently. The first stop south of Assiniboia was named Bexhill in 1927.

The elevator served a community for almost 50 years. After transport developments, with more farmers owning trucks rather than relying on horses and wagons, it was easier to drive the 5 miles to Assiniboia. The elevator closed and was later demolished. Bexhill was relinquished to the history books.

While conducting research in the UK I was repeatedly told “there’s nothing there” “you’ll be disappointed” and given the distinct impression of ‘not to bother’. Alas, I am not put off that easily. The more intrigued I became.

Arriving here yesterday I was met by Art. Art was the last farmer to deliver to the elevator at Bexhill. His father farmed Bexhill land, where his son now lives and works. We went exploring.

Art, Louise Kenward (2014)

Still a sign, he had a hunch it was still there. And today, after yesterday and this afternoon we found the remains of the elevator. There is no base, no building remains, but there was this. Definitely elevator Art said, and a can that carried the grain.

elevator remains, Bexhill (Louise Kenward, 2014)

(slightly crumpled) can that carried grain, Bexhill )Louise Kenward, 2014)

We also visited the museum today which has a ‘Bexhill’ sign and replica of the elevator that stood in Bexhill.

Bexhill elevator and sign, Assiniboia Museum (Louise Kenward, 2014)

So much more than I expected, the area is so peaceful we sat and listened to the birds for quite a while. Two deer jumped across the tracks and I saw a snake. Three ticks removed, two wet feet after stumbling into the well overflow and new friends of Art and Rosalie who have been so generous with their time and warmth.

Each community I’ve visited I haven’t known what would greet me. Everything was an unknown. But each time I have been most struck by humanity and kindness. Circumnavigating the globe I have again and again been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. A cliche for a reason, I am now on the final leg of my journey and have encountered so many people with no reason to be nice to me at all, but time and again people have been so generous.

However, this is far from over and I still have much to say about Bexhill, Sunbeam Farm and Canada. To be continued….

Sunbeam Farm

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My journey with Annie sadly left the ‘Sunbeam’ in Australia, with Annie’s ‘Last Voyage’. However, it is not the end of my story with the Brasseys, or with Annie. I pick up again with Annie in Toronto in a couple of weeks time and join her on ‘A Cruise on the Eothen’ through to Nova Scotia before venturing into America.

The ‘Sunbeam’ alas is also in Canada, having lent it’s name to the farm built for Annie’s husband, Lord Thomas Brassey, a few years after Annie’s death. Lord Brassey was involved in various philanthropic ventures, not least in helping to colonise the prairies at the end of the nineteenth century. Settlers had arrived in Saskatchewan and an advert was placed encouraging people to join them. Brassey set up the ‘Canadian Co-operative Colonisation Company’ inviting families to Indian Head where they would have a home and a piece of land, training in farming techniques and support to make a go of it in the new country.

“An advertisement appeared in England early in 1887 encouraging potential emigrants to settle in Qu’Appelle. One of the large farms included in the advertisement was the Brassey Estate. Readers were told ‘Professor H. Tanner, Government Examiner in AGriculture in the Dept. of Science, South Kensington, London, is now engaged in establishing a settlement…Special care will be taken to secure immigrants of exceptionable character and with a practical knowledge of farm life and its requirements…'” (from Qu’Appelle: Footprints to Progress)

“The sudden decision of the authorities in 1881 to run the CPR [Canadian Pacific Railway] along the Qu’Appelle Valley directed the first movement of immigrants to the southern prairies. During 1882 this particular district was one of the great lodestones of that movement. Literally all trails led to the Qu’Appelle” (p27 Echoes of the Qu’Appelle Lakes District, T. Petty)

This should have been a successful venture. Unfortunately with harsh climate and poor management the farm did not succeed. The colonisation did, however, and remains a community today, albeit different from the one envisaged by Lord Brassey 127 years ago.

Sunbeam Farm, Indian Head (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Bexhill to Bexhill

A journey by train with a nod to Annie Brassey

Tag Archives: Saskatchewan

Coast to coast by train.

Bexhill, Saskatchewan

Sunbeam Farm