TO be brutally honest, New Brunswick was never on my bucket list . . . however I highly recommend you put it on yours.

A small maritime province roughly the size of Ireland in eastern Canada, it borders Quebec to the north, Maine in the US to the south and west, and Nova Scotia to the east.

3 Drivers tend to take their time around these parts Credit: Emily Cathcart

The province oozes with personality Credit: Emily Cathcart

But what it lacks in size and name recognition, it makes up for in personality.

The people are almost preternaturally friendly; the natural resources are off-the-charts impressive, with spectacular vistas backed up by once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounters; the food is top class, with fish dishes being a particular source of local pride; while driving from town to town is actually relaxing due to the lack of traffic.

After flying direct from Dublin to Halifax with WestJet - which takes about six hours - we headed to the car rental counter dreaming of picking up the keys to a Ford Mustang or Bentley Continental.

One Hyundai Tucson later we were on the road to Shediac, a 240kms drive to a town billed as the ‘Lobster Capital of the World’.

Along the way we acquainted ourselves with Canadian driving habits, the most idiosyncratic of which is to overtake v e r y s l o w l y indeed on the motorways.

However as the traffic is negligible it’s more of an amusement than anything else.

Arriving a couple of hours later in Shediac gave us our first photo op of the trip when we pulled up at the town’s pride and joy - the world’s largest lobster sculpture, a 90-tonne crustaceous behemoth perched on a rock overlooking the bay (from where the now-defunct Imperial Airways once ran a flying boat service to Foynes in Co Limerick apparently).

Unfortunately that was the one and only day that the weather was anything other than idyllic so we didn’t dawdle.

Shediac is home to the world's largest lobster sculpture.. nice Credit: Emily Cathcart

3 84 per cent of Miramichi's population has Irish heritage Credit: Emily Cathcart

We overnighted at the historic Maison Webster House, built more than 100 years ago and previously in the possession of renowned Canadian physician and historian John Clarence Webster.

These days it’s run as a high-end B&B by Monique, complete with jacuzzis in the bedrooms, a grand piano in the drawing room, a pool out the back and more character than you can shake a Canadian spruce stick at.

A series of politicians’ mugshots dot the walls, detailing who has stayed at Maison Webster House over the years.

However pride of place goes to a pic of family friend and ice hockey legend Bobby Orr.

As I knew nothing about him, I gave him the Wikipedia treatment for this piece and he “revolutionised the position of defenceman”. So there.

Next morning it was back on the road for the scenic 90-minute drive north to Miramichi (pronounced mirra-mi-shee), also known as the Irish capital of Canada.

First stop on the edge of town was at the Middle Island Irish Historical Park and a quick confab with Caroline Daley who explained how 84 per cent of the city’s population claim Irish heritage.

Us paddies started arriving in the area in 1815 following the Napoleonic War and continued to appear there for the next 30-plus years.

Twinned with Monaghan no less Credit: Emily Cathcart

I could have stayed here for the afternoon.. despite the weird spelling Credit: Emily Cathcart

Caroline also told how Miramichi itself, which has been twinned with Monaghan since 1999, hosts Canada’s Irish Festival every July at the nearby Waterford Landing.

A delegation from Monaghan attends each year. We’ll be delving further into the Irish links to Canada in general and Miramichi in particular at a later date.

A few hours later, driving through the downtown area, we spotted O’Donaghue’s Irish pub so we stopped for the obligatory pint - despite the weird spelling.

I could have stayed there for the afternoon but we had a date with local historian Shawn McCarthy to see another one of Miramichi’s attractions, Beaubears Island.

Beaubears is an important cultural reference point for reasons too numerous to mention here.

However its main function, dating back to the 18th century, was as New Brunswick’s main centre of shipbuilding.

Like all golden ages though, it would eventually come to an end.

These days the island is more of a sanctuary for local wildlife, a picnicking spot during the summer for the locals and a reminder of our own impermanence.

All of this island hopping and philosophical navel-gazing was giving us an appetite so we decided to make our way back to our hotel, the Rodd Miramichi River Lodge with its spectacular views from the restaurant.

And I was delighted to be told at reception that my luggage had finally caught up with me - it had gone AWOL after we landed in Halifax but WestJet got it to me a day later despite us being 400kms away by then (these are the kind of things that impress me as I get older).

The following morning I was looking at the menu and wondering, ‘what the hell is breakfast poutine?’ Well poutine, as I’ve since figured out, is chips, gravy and cheese curds. In this case, breakfast poutine includes bacon, ham, sausage, fried eggs - and hollandaise sauce instead of gravy.

It all sounded so artery-hardeningly rich that I had to have it. And it was. But it was delicious.

Fredericton is a beautiful city with some spectacular Victorian architecture Credit: Emily Cathcart

Anyway back in the saddle of our trusty Tucson, we set our GPS for the New Brunswick state capital of Fredericton some 180kms distant.

Along the way we passed through the beautiful village of Doaktown which features a proper old-style train bridge over the Nashwaak river.

My plus-one on this trip, let’s call her Emily, wanted me to stop in the middle of the road so she could take pictures out the window of the car - that’s not how I roll.

I pulled safely to the kerb some 300 metres down the road so she made her way back on foot - perfect all round as it gave me the chance to snooze off the poutine sweats.

Fredericton is a beautiful city with some spectacular Victorian architecture alongside the more modern clean-lined structures that divide opinion. Personally, I’m a fan.

Dali, Constable, Gainsborough, Lucian Freud, Turner.. they're all here Credit: Emily Cathcart

We quickly checked in to the Crowne Plaza before dashing next door to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

Our guide Gerry was one of those guys that are absolutely in love with every single piece in the building and makes it such a pleasure to tag along.

All of the usual household names are present and correct - Dali, Constable, Gainsborough, Lucian Freud, Turner - as well as hundreds of lesser-known names, if not lesser talent.

We were supposed to go from there to a cycling tour of the local craft breweries, which is right upside my wheelhouse, but were running a bit late.

Instead we hit the James Joyce hotel bar for an hour before heading to a restaurant called 11th Mile.

If you like the ‘small plates’ style of eating, this is spectacular.

Next morning over breakfast, we were talking about how we’d like to spend another day in Fredericton. However, needs must…

We get back on the road for St Andrews, a seaside resort town which is back down south, about 130kms.

By now, I’m starting to get anxious I haven’t seen any moose or bears. I’m getting out of the car at regular intervals for a cigarette with pocketfuls of meat and cheese... although I remain unsure if moose like gouda.

St Andrews is a beautiful, quaint beach town. Deer roam the streets, a porcupine scuttles across the lawn outside our Algonquin hotel window. However we’ve got bigger fish-like critters to fry.

The whale watching was spectacular Credit: Emily Cathcart

It’s whale-watching morning at the local pier and I’m unreasonably excited. Not for the first time, I hear Canadian accents marvelling at the tides.

I ask about the fascination and am told that they rise and fall here as fast as anywhere in the world.

And it’s true, I kept a watch one lazy afternoon - in six hours the water rises 13 metres!

The whale-watching was magnificent, apart from all the constant idiots shoving past you or putting cameras in front of your face to get a snap of something they should probably just try observing instead.

Two humpbacks were feeding in the bay while we were there and it’s as impressive a sight as anything you’ll see in your lifetime.

Speaking of tides, Minister’s Island is well worth a visit when the water is low... but cut off when it rises.

3 Campobello is notable for being the summer getaway for the family of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt Credit: Emily Cathcart

We finished with a lobster dinner in St Andrews Credit: Emily Cathcart

Another local island just a few kilometres offshore, Campobello, is a different beast entirely.

This is inhabited and it’s notable for being the summer getaway for the family of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt.

In fact, it was here, in 1921 at the age of 39, that FDR was diagnosed with the polio that would eventually leave him wheelchair-bound.

The Roosevelt Cottage - all 34 rooms of it - is a must for any US history buffs.

The quirkiest aspect of Campobello however is the fact that despite it being Canadian, it is physically attached to the US mainland via the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge.

Our guide Peter pointed out that whenever he’s thinking of making the five-minute drive over to the village of Lubec in Maine to pick up a bottle of milk, the first thing he does is grab his passport to get through border control at the bridge.

Back in St Andrews that evening, a lobster dinner at the stunning Rossmount Inn seemed like a suitable way to sign off.

We’re on the road again the next morning and heading for the Fundy Trail, a 2,600-hectare park featuring some wondrous coastal drives, hill hikes, hidden waterfalls, secluded beaches . . . there’s something for everyone, apart from the most committed couch potato.

After spending daylight roaming the Trail, we could barely crawl into bed at the Shadow Lawn Inn in charming Rothesay.

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Another day, another highlight, this time it’s the iconic sandstone rock formations at Cape Hopewell.

The ‘flowerpot rocks’ have been carved out by the tides and time. If the tides are out, an ‘ocean floor tour’ is unexpectedly fantastic.

Which pretty much sums up New Brunswick itself.