"Like a band of Gypsies we go down the highway ~~ We're the best of friends ~~ Insisting that the world keep turnin' our way…" Willie Nelson – Johnny Cash
We enjoyed our visits to Hatley Castle and Gardens, about a 10 minute drive from our condo. The castle and gardens were constructed in the early 1900s by James Dunsmuir, heir to a coal and lumber fortune and one of the wealthiest men in British Columbia. His children squandered the fortune and in 1940 the castle and grounds became a Canadian military college. In 1995 the military closed their facility and it became Royal Roads University, a part of the BC education system to provide advanced degree training for professionals.
We toured the castle and gardens but our favorite discovery was a series of hiking trails on the Royal Roads campus and in the nearby woods. Our favorite hike, about a mile and a half, began in an evergreen forest, transitioned to a deciduous forest with constantly running streams from local springs, moved on to a meadow covered with blackberry bushes (great for summer picking!), and finally to a seaside lagoon. We took this hike several times a week throughout our stay in Canada and we especially enjoyed the cool, shady walk on hot days. We both agreed that it was our favorite thing on the island.
Hatley Castle and Gardens
Hatley Castle
View from the front of the castle
Castle was built in 1908. Can you see those numbers in this image?
Charlie in the entry of the Scottish castle.
Beautiful window at the end of the hall.
Billiard table.
Queen Elizabeth II
Flowers in the rose garden at the castle.
Looking through the Italian garden to the castle.
Looking from the castle to the Italian garden.
A riot of spring flowers in the rose garden.
Japanese garden.
Prolific blackberry bushes.
A tiny slug.
A building on the castle/Royal Roads grounds.
Looking through the grape arbor to the pollinator garden.
Pollinator garden.
Jude the Obscure was so fragrant.
View of Mt. Baker in Washington from the start of one of our hikes at RRU.
Cruise ship spotted coming into Victoria on one of our hikes.
No boats could be seen in this shot of the bay shrouded in thick, choking smoke.
Springs provided running water throughout RRU gardens and property.
Looking through to a Japanese bridge in the Japanese garden.
This pink bush is Joe Pye Weed. Saw it everywhere.
Shady hike at RRU.
More blackberries.
Pond in the lower Japanese garden.
Fish ladder to help the fish get back to the pond to spawn.
Shady pines on the hike.
Lower pond again.
RRU sign.
New building at RRU features First Nations carving on the outdoor benches.
Recreation building at RRU.
Some other hikers said this young barn owl was awaiting his mother’s return.
Piney Woods at RRU
Carrie was enchanted by the cool woods and the lighting on different days at different times of day.
Peeking through this giant moss-covered pine to see a deciduous forest.
