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Sloping up from the craggy banks of the Grand River, ELORA was founded in the 1830s by settlers who harnessed the river's waters to run their mills. Some of their limestone cottages have survived, along with a large grist mill, the main landmark, which has been converted into the Elora Mill Country Inn , a clever adaptation of what has long been the most important building in town. Nonetheless, most visitors come here to gaze at the waterfalls beside the inn - even though they're only a few metres high - and then stroll on to viewpoints overlooking the neighbouring three-kilometre-long Elora Gorge , a forested ravine with limestone cliffs. To get to the gorge from the inn, walk up Price Street to the top of the hill, turn left on James Street and proceed as far as the park area at the end of Henderson, from where footpaths lead across to the gorge. Elora itself, just ten-minutes' walk from end to end, is most pleasantly approached from the south - along Route 21 - across a narrow bridge that leads into the main street, Metcalfe, which cuts across tiny Mill Street, adjoining the falls. The tourist office , in the library in the centre of the village at 152 Geddes St (June-Aug daily 9am-5pm; Oct-May Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat-Sun noon-4.30pm; tel 519/846-9841), has the details of a handful of B&Bs . Perhaps the best is The Old Bissell House , 84 Mill St E (tel 519/846-6695; $60-80), a smart, modern place with river views and four pleasant guestrooms, two en suite. There's only one hotel, the Elora Mill Country Inn, on Mill Street (tel 519/846-5356; $125-175), which boasts period bedrooms, log fires and beamed ceilings. The hotel has a first-rate restaurant . If you're keen to see more of the gorge, the Elora Gorge Conservation Area (daily dawn-dusk; $3.50) is a popular picnic and camping spot spread out along the Grand River 2km southwest of Elora: it's signposted from the bridge near Metcalfe.
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