LARGE ARCHES and clock tower are the dominant feature of the town's main street, Hurontario. Collingwood's Town Hall is a fine example. -- Kenneth Bagnell photos

The small town of Collingwood, a couple of hours drive northwest of Toronto, may be best known as a place of winter recreation, ski hills and resorts, but there's another year-round Collingwood -- one I saw recently on a leisurely walk through the centre of town.

Here are buildings of century-old beauty, some lining the wide main street, others on residential lots where the prosperous of a bygone age built mansions which a new generation zealously preserves. In fact, Collingwood, some believe, was the first small town in Canada to set firm bylaws protecting architectural heritage.

"Today," says Bill Barclay, an innkeeper who walked with me, "if I just want to paint the exterior of my inn, I have to advise the town. Not because it wants to restrict expansion. It just wants to maintain heritage."

* * *

I was staying at the inn Bill and his wife Stephanie own, Beild House. Like one or two other inns in Collingwood it was originally built as a doctor's home, back at the opening of the 20th century, a time when the physician lived in a house that reflected both his income and social position.

It's handsomely furnished throughout with a dining and livingroom having comfortable private corners into which I slipped early each morning with pre-breakfast coffee and morning papers.

Each evening I had dinner prepared by chef Eric Madden whose cooking, combining simplicity with imagination, was developed in name restaurants including Scaramouche of Toronto. His finest meal included lamb that had been marinated in honey, curry, chillies and garlic. It had sat for three days, and just before dinner was seared with hoisin sauce. Unforgettable.

"I keep things simple," he told me one morning, "I'm for fusion but only if fusion works."

Recently, Beild House joined in informal association with three other historic Collingwood inns. While I was in town, they held an open door evening so I was able to drop in on each.

All are stately manors, the first two, Thurso House and Trillium Place, are less than a minute's walk from where I stayed, and the fourth, Joseph Lawrence House, is near the entrance to town and named for the man thought to be its first settler in 1853. While the Beild is the largest with 11 rooms, a spa and chef, all, despite individual styles, have the character of early Canada throughout -- ample rooms, high ceilings, gleaming panelling, wide stairways and magnificent craftsmanship overall. And their owners are people who own small inns for the right reason -- they like people, and take pleasure in treating them as if they were guests in private homes.

* * *

The best way to see the town's heritage is on foot, you'll need a map the inns will provide and about 1 1/2 hours. Some of the highlights: The Federal Building of 1914, beautiful and unusual in that its architect was inspired to base his monumental design on a state building in Havana, Cuba; the Anglican Rectory of 1878, a delicately ornate home regarded as the finest example of Gothic design north of Toronto; the Market Building, the major edifice of main street and while its construction was plaqued with problems, you'd never know it from its serene appearance -- lofty clock tower, huge arches, and inside, stylish, coloured windows; the Railway Station Museum, a building of fine exterior lines, housing varied artifacts which curator Anita Miles is pleased to discuss.

A walk through Collingwood is more than a walk through a town -- it's a brief stroll back in time, to yesterday in Canada.

* * *

The Thurso House B&B was a doctor's residence in the early 1900s.

Bottom Line

- MORE INFO: For more on Collingwood, call 866-351-4597.

- HISTORIC INNS OF COLLINGWOOD: Beild House Inn and Spa: 888-322-3453; beildhouse.com (A weekend package for two, including meals -- one a six course dinner -- is $479.95.) Thurso House: 705-445-7117; thursohouse.com Trillium Place: 705-444-7207; trilliumplace.com The Joseph Lawrence House: 705-445-7132; josephlawrencehouse.com.

- CAFE CULTURE: Highly recommended spots include Spike & Spoon: 705-446-1629; 27th on fourth: 705-444-8322; Between Friends: 705-446-3337.