British Columbia

When people hear I’m from rural British Columbia, I know what their reaction will be: rhapsodic. ‘BC’ is their favourite place on earth — they had a life-changing encounter with nature there, and only their marriage/job/children stopped them dropping everything and moving there for ever. It may be one of the most beautiful corners of the Earth, but it’s also the place I grew up. In other words: I’ve always found it kind of boring.

Marrying someone whose parents retired to Canada’s west coast gave me more reason to keep going back, and being there with people who aren’t blasé locals has given me a new perspective. I’ve gradually opened my eyes to what new visitors find obvious: the whole province is one scene from a nature documentary after another. Vancouver has excellent restaurants, galleries and shopping, but nature is the big show around here.