A Horseshoe Valley woman has published a book to share her extensive travel experience.
First-time author Lynn Holden, 77, published Canadian World Heritage Sites in March. It explores all 20 World Heritage Sites in the country.
“They are pretty special,” Holden says. “They rate at the same level as the pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China.”
Holden’s journey to visit the World Heritage Sites in Canada began 40 years ago when she went white-water rafting in the Nahanni River that surrounds the Northwest Territories and Yukon border.
“At that point, I knew nothing about World Heritage Sites,” she said. “I saw a park up there that said Virginia Falls, World Heritage Site.”
The former teacher visited two more World Heritage Sites in the next two years, SGang Gwaay and the Rocky Mountains. She became fascinated with knowing about where more sites could be found around the globe.
“Every summer holiday, I would take the time to go visit another one of these sites,” she said. “Every time I thought I was finished, I would learn of another site.”
By 2018, she had visited all 20 sites. Now, she wants to share her experiences with the world.
“That’s what the book is all about,” she said. “It’s got a big map at the front of it, and it shows where the 20 sites are across Canada.”
The book explains the difference between the cultural and geographical sites and includes information about each site. All of the photographs in the book were taken by Holden, 77, who is a professional photographer.
“It’s sort of a history book, geology book and tabletop book,” she said.
While reflecting on her adventures to the World Heritage Sites, Holden says one of the visits had more of an effect on her than the others.
“I was in L’Anse aux Meadows in 1991, a Viking and cultural site in Newfoundland, when the Viking ship came into shore,” she recalled. “I decided that I could do the voyage of the Viking and have now been all over the world to see where the Vikings went.”
Holden hopes her book will inspire others to explore some of the “amazing places” across Canada.
“My grandson read the book and he says now he wants to go to those places,” she said. “That’s the best compliment I could ever have.”
For those who are unable to travel, Holden hopes she can give readers a little taste of what it’s like to experience the World Heritage Sites in Canada.
Canadian World Heritage Sites is available at Manticore Books in downtown Orillia for $45.
