From the moment we docked in Victoria, we had a very good feel that this was going to be a really lovely place to visit…. the dock was very welcoming with lovely lanterns and hanging baskets full of colourful blooms….
We were on a tour with Debbie, just 8 of us in a comfortable mini-bus. We drove through charming, tree lined residential streets, with pristine homes as our host, Sandra and driver Dale, filled us in with interesting information about their lovely Victoria, as we drove out of the city, to their No. 1 attraction….. before all the big tour buses turned up!!
We had heard about the awesome 'Butchart Gardens' and now we are on our way to view for ourselves…. The temp. was supposed to be a high of 17deg.C, so I wore slacks and a jumper but the moment we got off the bus, I realized that I was going straight to the gift shop to replace my jumper with a T-shirt - lucky me and the gift shop was enormous!!!
Sandra suggested that we would need a couple of hours in the Gardens and we had no idea that we really could have spent the day there. From the moment we walked through the gates, it was breathtaking and everything appeared to be perfectly manicured with magnificent colour, garden themes and beautiful backdrops of gorgeous trees. It was totally awesome and a wonderful story about the history of this truly fabulous garden wonderland. I really don't think any single photo does it justice.
We were whisked off for a wine tasting at a picturesque vineyard, and then lunch at a great little pub, the Blue Coyote, with the locals… always good fun, food and atmosphere. From there we went to Sea Salt Cider and had samplings of their beautiful produce.
Next was the magnificent Craigdarroch Castle which was built around the late 1800's for the Dunsmuir family. Robert, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune from Vancouver Island coal, sadly died before construction was completed but his wife Jean moved in with their 10 children. It has a truly beautiful interior, full of authentic memorabilia, and oak panelled walls and stairwells. The grounds are on a high couple of acres, but it is totally surrounded by residential homes - not a bad view for all of the neighbours.
Sadly it was time to head back down the coastal road and then through delightful city streets with pots and baskets of gorgeous flowers, and handsome buildings - especially the Empress Hotel. What a super day!!!
Next, it's off to Vancouver for Canada Day tomorrow.
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