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The twin headlands to the east of downtown Kingston over the La Salle Bridge have long been used by the military. The first is home to the Royal Military College , the training academy for officers of all three services; the second Old Fort Henry (late May to late Sept daily 10am-5pm; $9.50; programme details on tel 613/542-7388), a large and imposing fortress with thick stone-and-earth ramparts built to keep the Americans at bay after the War of 1812. As it turned out, it was all a waste of time: Anglo-American relations improved and the fort never saw a shot fired in anger, so when the last garrison upped sticks at the end of the nineteenth century, the fortress fell into disrepair. Restored in 1938, the fort's focus is now the vast parade ground, which comes to life in summer, when students dress up in military gear and fill the fort with the smoke of muskets and cannons and the racket of bugles, drums and fifes. Everything on offer is aimed at families, and there's masses for kids to do, from parading for drill in miniature uniforms and helping with the gun salute, to participating in lessons in a Victorian schoolroom and doing the laundry. If this doesn't appeal you can explore the ramparts, with their vistas of Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands, as well as the magazines, kitchens and officers' quarters, and the fort's collection of firearms, medals and military equipment. Proto-militarists can also double their fun by visiting the Royal Military College's Fort Frederick (late June to Aug daily 10am-5pm; donation), a Martello tower stuffed with the Douglas Arms' Collection.
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