Freshwater fun

The last thing you'd expect to be doing in Canada is building sandcastles in the sunshine, says Simon Rogers in the Guardian. But at Wasaga beach, which claims to be the world's longest freshwater beach, you can do just that. This vast, 14km stretch of sand, hugging the shores of Lake Huron, is "less than two hours drive from Toronto, but a million miles from most people’s preconceptions".

The water is shallow, there is no tide, and the lake is so huge you can't see to the other side.

In the depths of winter, people come to ski on the 40m-high sand dunes, but in summer the area is transformed into a network of hiking trails, through forests of oak, pine and butterfly weed, while the town of Wasaga has a collection of cafes, ice cream stalls and a 1920s boardwalk.

"It's the perfect holiday scene, with only the blue mountains in the distance to remind you where you are."

Zoom flies from £366 rtn. Adrian’s (+1 705 429 2913) has two-bed cabins for C$400 for two nights.