Captain Greybeard

The second day of my journey on the Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies began by passing a pretty black and white church (above) used as a location in Clint Eastwood's 1992 film Unforgiven, and ended just after the coaches passed the Vancouver Film Studios known as Hollywood North. There were plenty of sights in between which, if they weren't so remote, would be a film-maker's dream. Hell's Gate, the narrowest part of the Fraser River, where up to 200 million gallons of water pour through a narrow canyon every minute, was a serious challenge to the men building the [...]

All aboard! Today our happy band of Princess Cruise passengers, on a land tour in the Canadian Rockies, left behind the motor coach that brought us from Calgary, and boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train in Jasper. We said farewell to driver Dale, and hello to train attendant Tim who kept us entertained - and fed - throughout the day. There were about 500 passengers on the train in 17 carriages; six of them with the domed observation cars providing GoldLeaf service. I'm up front, in coach number 1, enjoying RedLeaf service at half the price. We still get breakfast and [...]

There's a world of difference between a cruise - which I will be embarking on board Diamond Princess on Saturday - and a land tour, which is what I am doing right now in the Canadian Rockies. On the ship, I will be taken from port to port without the slightest hassle on my part; I'll leave Ketchikan one day and I'll wake up in Juneau the next, for example. On land, getting from Calgary to Banff, and from Banff to Jasper, involves a coach ride, and different hotels, and packing, and labels, and bellmen to deliver and collect the [...]

Now I know how Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards must have felt when he took part in the 1988 Winter Olympics. I stood at the top of the 90 metre ski jump at the Calgary Olympic Park today and stared down . . . and down . . . and down. I wasn't wearing skis, and the hill and the landing area are now overgrown with grass. But it was still scary up there in the early morning chill. Imagine the butterflies that must have been raging in Eddie's stomach when he took it upon himself to challenge the world's best, [...]