Churchill, Manitoba is a long way to go whichever way you cut it. Particularly if you go the way I did and took the train for a full two days through monotonous boreal forest and bleak tundra to get to this bedraggled and loveless transport hub on the southern edge of the Hudson Bay.

But thankfully I wasn’t there for architectural sightseeing but to commune with polar bears. That I did, but not only that, there was also the unexpected chance to kayak with pods of beluga whales and even watch the northern lights for hours one night as they lit the night sky with their incandescent dance. A lot of highlights for a couple of nights – and this wasn’t even Churchill in peak season.

The prime time to go is really the six weeks at the start of October, as temperatures drop below zero Celsius and winds gust to 40mph, when hundreds of polar bears converge on Churchill. The bears are really only passing through, killing time waiting for the ice to refreeze on the vast adjacent Hudson Bay where they spend most of their lives lying in wait at blowholes to secure the next seal dinner with a quick swipe of a clawed paw. This is also when tundra buggies – buses raised on gigantic balloon wheels – converge on the bears to watch the males scrapping and the females nursing cubs.

My sightings weren’t so spectacular, just a couple of males pottering along the seashore and one dozing among the rocks. But got impressively close to the world’s largest land-predator in a rather too rickety minivan.

Spent much longer with the belugas and even got a chance to listen to there sonar squeaking over a mic. You don’t feel all that safe in a kayak beside their huge bulk in the water, or in a zodiac for that matter, but they always seem cheerfully inquisitive and never aggressive to humans. There’s also a chance to dive or snorkel with them when the waters are clear enough.

Most of Churchill’s accommodation is in a few dreary hotels, but you’re better off staying with a local family in a B&B. Everyone’s laid back and friendly and no-one locks their doors – partly so people have somewhere to go if a bear pops up!