EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Surrounded by forest, HARTLAND , some 90km from King's Landing, advertises itself exclusively on the size of its wooden bridge , which at 391m is by far the longest covered bridge in the world. It was completed in 1901, the idea being to protect the timbers of the bridge from the elements by means of a long shed-like affair built in the manner of a barn. It's not graceful - but it is long.

North of Hartland, the scenery changes as the maples give way to the beginning of a great undulating belt of potato fields. This is really dreary, but a surprise lies in store at GRAND FALLS , 105km from Hartland. Here, right in the centre of an otherwise nondescript town, a spectacular weight of water squeezes through hydroelectric barriers to crash down a 23-metre pitch. Even if the diversion of water through nearby turbines has deprived the falls of their earlier vigour, they're still impressive, as is the two-kilometre gorge they've carved downstream, a steep-sided ravine encircling half the town. There are two short walks into the gorge: one leads to near the base of the falls themselves, the other to the bottom of the gorge, where, amid the pounding of the water and the sheer faces of the rock, it's hard to believe you're still in the middle of town.

There's nothing else to see in Grand Falls, and the visitors centre on the bridge (tel 475-7788) is preoccupied with the river too, though it does have a mildly diverting section outlining the history of the town. If you're marooned, there's straightforward accommodation right by the gorge (and its waterfall) at the Hill Top Motel , 131 Madawaska Rd (tel 473-2684 or 1-800/496-1244; $40-60).