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So close to the border, the British military post of Fort George (April-Oct daily 10am-5pm; $6), some 700m southeast of the town centre, was difficult to man. Indeed, so many Redcoats deserted to the US in anticipation of a better life that it eventually had to be garrisoned by the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment, a force consisting mostly of married men approaching retirement who were unlikely to forfeit their pensions by hightailing it down south. If they did try and were caught, they were branded on the chest with the letter "D" and then either lashed or transported to a penal colony - except in wartime, when they were shot. The fort was one of a line of stockades slung across the waterways of the Great Lakes to protect Canada from the US. The original fort was destroyed during the War of 1812, but the site was thoroughly excavated and the fort rebuilt in the 1930s - and splendidly done it was too. The thick earth-and-stone rampart that encircles the fort is set close to the lie of the land to mitigate against artillery bombardment, while the projecting bastions once enabled the defenders to fire on attackers from a variety of angles. Behind the rampart, in the central compound , are a number of replica buildings including barracks, officers' quarters and three pine blockhouses that doubled as soldiers' barracks. The difference between the officers' quarters and the barracks is striking. The former are comparatively spacious and were once - as recorded on shipping lists - furnished with fancy knick-knacks, while the latter housed the men and some of their wives (six wives out of every hundred were allowed to join the garrison) in the meanest of conditions. The only original building to survive is the powder magazine of 1796, its inside finished in wood and copper to reduce the chances of an accidental explosion - and the soldiers who worked here wore shoes with no metal fastenings. If all this whets your historical appetite, there are lantern-light ghost tours of the fort - good fun with or without an apparition (May & June Sun 8.30pm; July & Aug Mon, Thurs & Sun 8.30pm; $5). Purchase tickets either in advance at the fort or from the guide at the beginning of the tour.
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