A Tale of Two Villages

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The Group of Seven’s A.J. Casson called it “Ontario’s beautiful village,” and Elora’s nickname stuck. There are some 20 artists’ studios, a half-dozen galleries and a notable arts centre. Stÿll gallery, owned by local artisans, is at the epicentre of the area’s arts community. It met all our front-porch needs, including whimsical wood-carved weather vanes.

Glacial meltwaters cut a swath through the area, creating a dramatic landscape that’s best explored on foot. Hiking the Elora Gorge Conservation Area is like visiting a northern wilderness. For fishing, Belwood Lake, outside Fergus, has trophy-size pike, smallmouth bass and a trout pond reserved for anglers under 14.

This is prime Ontario horse-breeding territory: The Kentuckyesque white fences that line the country roads are a trademark. At the Grand River Raceway, farmers head to the paddock to size up the horses. Arrive early for all the gossip.

Snack
Named for its postal code (N0B 1S0), Elora’s Nobiso is a Modernist retrofit: Scandinavian design rules in the former garage bays of a one-time service station. We liked the stunning art; its cinder block walls double as a gallery. 

The H2O Restaurant at the Elora Mill is a rustic doppelgänger to swish Nobiso. Chef Stephen Vaughan has overhauled the menu: Out with the beef Wellington; in with an inventive selection of local products, from sheep’s milk brie to Muscovy duck.

No self-respecting artists’ community should be without its own ethnic veg­etarian restaurant. In Elora, the Desert Rose Café, with its rich curry and chipotle-spiced dishes and its country-kitchen decor, fills the niche nicely.

Relax
The Elora Mill Country Inn & Restaurant, in an 1870 stone edifice complete with silent hydroelectric generator, sits atop the rapids at the mouth of the gorge. At night, the faint rush of the rapids outside lulled us to sleep.

In Fergus, the Breadalbane Inn (bruh-DAHL-bun) gives a hint of the area’s highlands history. Guarded day and night by a kitschy wooden statue of a Scottish warrior, it’s the star attraction of the town’s main street.

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