ESSENTIALS GETTING THERE

the leaves gobbled the light of the sun and then released it slowly.” The New Brunswick autumn, by contrast, receives fewer plaudits, global perception halting at the border – even though the landmass continues, and the orange-pink arboreal dance towards winter with it. The happy result is a calmer take on it all – the roads far less thronged by leaf-peepers than the lanes of the Berkshires.

I am not disappointed when I reach the Bay of Fundy to find autumn draped around Hopewell Rocks. That paintbox mixture of failing, mortal gold and undying evergreen adds a sublime backdrop to the dislocated boulders that, eroded by the sea’s unforgiving touch, declare this coastline to be a living entity. Such was demonstrated in 2016 when Elephant Rock, a sedimentary outcrop whose discernible “trunk” made it one of the site’s most photographed elements, collapsed under its own weight.

However, there is enough geological majesty remaining to keep visitors enthralled – Lovers Arch, two halffallen slabs which lean on each other for support, seeming to kiss. The waterline continues the argument that the ground here moves and murmurs. When I arrive, the bay is gnawing the base of the arch, kayakers paddling Air Canada (00800 6699 2222; aircanada.com) offers connections to Moncton and St John from Toronto and Halifax (Nova Scotia). Direct flights to both hubs from Heathrow.