If you had to travel to Britain tomorrow, the first thing you are likely to do is log on to your preferred airline's website, search out the best deal for a flight and book a seat. The thing that you are most likely to do second is to start dreading the flight.

We all complain about long flights; the bland food, the cramped seating, the re-circulated air and having to pay for a blanket. Albeit annoying, these are the things we take for granted. There once was a time when travel was not so easy.

In the mid-1880s, traveling from Britain to Canada was a much more complicated endeavour. Step one on the itinerary was boarding a ship at the closest port and crossing the Atlantic. Immigrants were packed tightly into cramped quarters for the week and a half long trip until they reached either Quebec City or Halifax. Upon arrival, they had to register and pass inspection at an immigration hall, only to board yet another steamboat in order to travel across the Great Lakes.

Step two was traveling across land. Settlers rode the Canadian Pacific Railway from Fort William to Winnipeg or took a train to St. Paul, Minnesota; the latter of which was unlikely as it was more expensive and off-route.

Now they had to reach Edmonton from Winnipeg. Before the CPR reached Calgary in 1883, immigrants had two options including taking a costly steamer trip up the river or purchasing a cart or buckboard. The thriftier travelers would depart, via their newly acquired transportation, onto the Carlton Trail from Winnipeg to Fort Edmonton.

The Carlton Trail was a well-established mail and freight route. Often travelers would encounter Métis freighters, merchants and farmers traveling in between the settlements. Along the trail there were many stopping houses where wealthier travelers would pay a fee to be fed and housed. Otherwise, travelers with less money to spare would use the many stopping places that were established to camp out near water, food and fire pits. Even with amenities, the Carlton Trail was still a hard, and often muddy slog. Even once rail to Calgary emphasized the Edmonton-Calgary trail, trips were none too pleasant. On top of everything else she'd experienced, Lovisa McDougall recalled barely being able to write a letter because the mosquitos were so thick.

Upon arrival to Edmonton, occasionally called "The Most Remote Settlement in the North-West," immigrants were required to pay $10.00 to register their land claim prior to settling. Once this was done, they were finally able to build their home by hand.

Re-heated food and a window seat isn't sounding so bad anymore, is it?

Fort Edmonton Park has a representation of a covered wagon, stocked with the tools, furniture and foodstuffs of a newly-arrived settler family. If you're interested in a glimpse of travel in the style of the 1880s, learn more about our grand opening weekend in 2011!