Hatley Castle and Gardens

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

Piney Woods at RRU

Picnic with friends at Hatley

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