On the western shore of Hudson Bay in Canada's Manitoba province the compact and pretty town of Churchill is surrounded by a diversity of majestic and stunning landscapes. From the glacier-eroded boulders that line the bay, across expanses of arctic tundra where shrubs, grasses and wildflowers punctuate the permafrost, to the areas of spruce forest that lie north of the town, there's no denying that Churchill enjoys an abundance of dramatic natural beauty.
This area of Canada has been inhabited for at least four thousand years, at first by nomadic indigenous tribes which hunted caribou and seals for food and fur and later by European explorers who reached Hudson Bay early in the seventeenth century. British colonists established a prosperous fur trade in the area, setting up the Hudson Bay Company in 1670 and naming their trading post and the local river in honour of the First Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill. In 1731 the company began building the the impressive Fort Prince of Wales, to defend Hudson Bay from French invaders. The fort remains largely intact and today visitors can explore and discover this building's fascinating history.