A close encounter with a grizzly bear and a three-day solo canoe trip were just two of the exciting highlights of a South Lakeland woman’s amazing Canadian adventure.

Sarah Hooper, 38, spent 10 weeks in Canada on a tour of some of North America’s lakes and rivers with funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Sarah, from Ulverston, said the grizzly encounter occurred at a camp on the Arctic Rae River.

“We went for a walk not far from camp and we saw the grizzly sleeping.

"My instinct was to back away so as not to invade its territory but one of the lads set off a banger to wake it. Then they fired another banger to frighten it off.”

She was told they had to do that so it wouldn’t move into their camp in the night.

In another incident, she joined a group of people howling at a nearby pack of wolves in the hope of getting a response, but the wolves didn’t respond.

Sarah also took part in a wilderness therapy programme aimed at helping teenagers from troubled backgrounds.

An outdoor education tutor with Water Park Adventure Centre in Coniston, Sarah says her Canadian experience will help her in her work.

“Being up in the Arctic was a highlight,” said Sarah. “Being that far remote was incredible and on another trip I went off by myself for three days and I was canoeing back in the midnight light, watching shooting stars.

“One of the big things I have taken from the trip is to always have fun.

“I work with children and they come to us for kayaking and climbing for their first time and it is important to remember how to have fun.”

To read all about Sarah’s adventure, visit her blog at http://sarahmhooper.blogspot.com.