Through the fancy window in the formal dining room of The Fieldstone Inn, Kelly Brennan points north beyond the river and its surrounding flatlands to the hills that define the other side of the legendary Qu'Appelle Valley.

The Fieldstone Inn is nestled amid the gentle slopes of the south side of the Qu'Appelle Valley.

"You can still see part of it, right over there," he says, directing gazes at a section of the time-worn trail that a 100 years ago snaked down through the hills and across the valley floor to the door of what's now The Fieldstone Inn. A local fellow who's now in his 90s recalls using the trail to trek here for skating parties and piano performances, says Kelly's wife, Carrie.

"It's always been a gathering place, a community centre, throughout its history," she says. "This is our way of maintaining that."

The difference is that today, the voices of visitors to this former manor house belong not to people from the other side of the valley, but to folks from Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Munich and Tokyo.

The Fieldstone Inn is an award-winning heritage property located near Craven, less than a half-hour drive northwest of Regina. It operates as both a bed-and-breakfast and a country vacation guest ranch.

The graceful and cultivated, three-storey house was constructed in 1903 using field stones from the surrounding hills. The walls are two-feet thick, making the window sills expansive. A servants' quarters was added to the rear of the 12-room house in 1904.

The home's original owner was a prim, proper and wealthy Scottish widow named Helen Pomphrey Lauder. She and her son arrived in the area in 1892, after leaving Scotland in search of another son who had fled the country with a barmaid on his arm.

The parlor, an inviting room for socializing.

Lauder never found her errant son, who was rumored to be living in the vicinity. But she fell in love with the Qu'Appelle Valley, which reminded her of Eildon Vale Hills in Scotland. She bought 2,300 acres of it and named it 'Eildon Vale'.

By the time the Brennans purchased the house in 1995, it had been home to five generations of Lauders. The new owners enlisted a professional to do a comprehensive history of the Lauder family, resulting in a rich bank of colorful, curious and amusing tales they're happy to share with visitors - the Lauders' gargantuan old barn, for instance, is now a dry-docked ship that serves as an art gallery on a British Columbia island.

Original light fixtures and doorknobs had disappeared from the home, which sat vacant from 1967 to 1974. But three stained-glass windows survived undamaged. And beneath the shag carpets, cheesy 'Z-brick' finishing and numerous layers of wallpaper, the Brennans discovered a surprisingly intact, interior structure. Their extensive renovations returned the home to its turn-of-the-century splendor.

The inn's three guest rooms were appointed and named to reflect the personalities and interests of prominent Lauders, while the comfortable parlor was decorated to evoke the socializing and romancing of a bygone era. Few would guess the building's beautifully-refinished and ample wood trim, particularly striking in the formal dining room, came as a package ordered from a 1903 Eaton's catalogue.

The formal dining room features two windows that look out onto the valley.

Saskatchewan people were first to discover the inn, which opened July 1, 1996. Among the several bed-and-breakfast packages on offer the 'Romantic Refuge' has proven particularly popular (email for current price list). It features complimentary wine and Belgian chocolates, and includes a Canadian breakfast.

"We get lots and lots of husbands calling, saying 'I never see my wife. I want to surprise her with something'," says Carrie.

The inn is growing in appeal among corporations and organizations seeking a unique and elegant locale for conferences, staff parties, meetings and retreats. And its 'Just an Old Fashion Country Christmas' program, which features horse-drawn sleigh rides followed by hot beverages in the old wood-heated train station next to the inn, attracted 600 people in December, 1998. Carrie and Kelly offer group sleigh rides, with additional activities and services, right through March.

In spring, summer and autumn, however, The Fieldstone Inn draws a national and international clientele seeking a Saskatchewan country vacation of four days to two weeks. Out-of-province Canadians, Europeans, a few Americans, but especially the Japanese are discovering the natural beauty of the Qu'Appelle Valley and the charm and friendliness of its people.

A romantic getaway with a turn-of-the-century flavor.

"They love it here," Carrie says of the Japanese visitors, many of whom are young women from Tokyo. "They don't have anything natural left over there. They come here and they're absolutely blown away. When they leave, they bawl their eyes out."

Carrie and Kelly keep their guests busy from morning 'til night with a list of activities that owes its wide range to good fortune and thoughtful planning. Adjacent to the inn lies the Hidden Valley Nature Refuge, where guests can observe deer, eagles, coyotes, porcupines, foxes, badgers, hawks and rabbits, from the numerous hiking trails within the preserve.

In front of the inn, the gentle Qu'Appelle River provides an ideal venue for exploring the scenic valley basin by canoe. Breakfast on the outdoor veranda, meticulously constructed to match the style of the original, affords the perfect opportunity to observe the song birds who summer in the valley. A birder from Manitoba this year will be doing a bird count for the Brennans to chart the various species in the area.

Two minutes up the road from the inn sits the picturesque St. Nicholas Historic Church, an Anglican parish said to be one of the 10-most-photographed churches in North America. Five minutes by car in the other direction are the market gardens of Craven, while a few minutes more up the same road is Lumsden, a hotbed for arts and crafts, and one the prettiest valley towns anywhere. The Brennans say the local RCMP detachment has shown generous cooperation when guests wish to see a Mountie dressed in red serge.

Kelly created an open-air arena where first-time horse riders can experience the popular recreational activity in a safe and controlled environment. No bears or wolves roam the valley, so guests unfamiliar with the area are comfortable hiking off into the hills, alone.

Weddings, parties, dances - The Fieldstone has always been a gathering place.

Carrie and Kelly understand some of the best memories of any vacation are the people. They enjoy introducing guests to residents of the valley, and residents of the valley enjoy meeting the guests. A local woman who was pregnant when she attended one the Brennans' community bonfires was delightfully surprised when she later received baby gifts from Asia.

The affable Brennans are getting used to such gestures of appreciation.

"Last Thursday, one of the (Japanese women) who visited us last summer phoned me at 2:30 in the morning, Tokyo time," says Carrie. "She was lonely. She missed us.

"The cards and letters we get are just amazing."

If Helen Pomphrey Lauder is watching from above, she must be nodding her head in approval. The home she built almost 100 years ago remains today the easeful gathering point she intended it be. The world's just a smaller place.

To book a romantic weekend at the Fieldstone Inn, or to inquire about vacation packages, email Carrie and Kelly at fieldstone.inn@sk.sympatico.ca. Phone (306) 731-2377, or fax 731-2369.

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