Banff Canada

Spectacular views and equally stunning string quartet performances are on Jeremy Pound's agenda as he heads to the Canadian Rockies

- 

It's a bright August morning and I have a few hours before my next concert, so I'm going to head out for a stroll. As I make my way out of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, however, I see a notice pinned to the door. 'It's berry season,' it warns. 'Bear encounters are likely. If you see a bear, stay calm, back away slowly and leave the area. Never run.' OK. Got it.

I don't particularly want to exit pursued by a bear (sorry, Shakespeare), but if I had to, I can't think of a more beautiful place to do so than here. Situated in the Canadian Rockies about two hours' drive from Calgary, Banff is surrounded by awe-inspiring peaks and evergreen forests, in which lurk those Grizzlies plus various other creatures very great and small. Skirting the town to the south are the azure waters and white rapids of the River Bow, on the other side of which spreads the world-famous Banff Springs Golf Course. Once, when asked if this was one of the most spectacular courses in the world, golf legend Bobby Locke simply replied, 'Not really. It's out of this world.'