 | Like the Legislative Assembly Buildings, Craigdarroch Castle is an imposing pile of stonework from the outside. But what makes repeated visits a delight are the details, the many lovely objects scattered throughout the interior of the castle. Here's a little sample. Above is a silver tea service. To the left is a portrait of Queen Victoria looking less dour than in many. And to the right is a detail of a silver table centerpiece from the dining room. |  |
What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of. *
 | Last week I posted a series of photos of one of Victoria's more famous landmarks, Craigdarroch Castle. However, I didn't post at that time any photos taken from the castle, especially the lovely little circular room that occupies the topmost tower (see photo on the right). In her later years Mrs. Dunsmuir liked to spend time in this room and the view over Victoria and Saanich is still very attractive though the close surroundings, formerly gardens, are now solidly residential. Above we are looking north towards Victoria's two little mountains, Mount Douglas (left of center) and Mount Tolmie (right of center). Below left is the view looking towards the modern city of Victoria |  |
| ...to the Ross Bay Villa Lawn Party. Above is Ross Bay Villa, one of the few remaining houses in Victoria dating from the 1860s. It is also one of the few that is essentially intact. Ross Bay Villa has been undergoing restoration for some time now under the auspices of The Land Conservancy, a non-profit, charitable land trust that works throughout the province of British Columbia. The Lawn Party is to celebrate the completed restoration of the dining room and will take place from 1 pm until 4 pm on Labour Day Monday, September 6, 2010. Admission is free. House Tour and Cream Tea will be $7 each. Ross Bay Villa is located at 1490 Fairfield Road across from the Ross Bay Cemetery. I'll be there! 63% of the people who kindly voted in yesterday's poll suggested I should go and photograph Craigdarroch Castle again and the result is to the right. I think it was worth the trip. Thank you to everyone who took the time to give me his or her opinion. |  |
Many thanks to the 25 visitors who participated in yesterday's poll and left comments. This was very helpful. The overwhelming preference (72% at this point) was for the bottom close-up of the castle from the corner rather than the straight-on view from further back. (See yesterday's post) This is the reverse of what I expected since I assumed the inevitable distortions arising from the super-wide angle view would turn most people off. Anyway, here's a third view of Craigdarroch Castle and another question. I like this perhaps better than the two views I posted yesterday except for blown out sky over the right side of the photo. What do you think - is it worth another trip to the castle to shoot this one again under a clear blue sky?
Canadian Geographic Magazine is having a photo contest for pictures of National Historic Sites, which is one of the reasons this blog has been experiencing a quite a few such photos lately (Fort Rodd Hill and Craigflower Farm to name two). Here's another National Historic Site located in Victoria, Craigdarroch Castle. I went up there yesterday and took photos of its exterior from every different angle. Above and below are the two views I prefer. Please use the poll below to help me decide which is best. Thanks!
This 39 room mansion was built in 1890 by Robert Dunsmuir, at that time the richest man in western Canada. Dunsmuir initially made his fortune from coal mines in Nanaimo but later developed the E & N Railroad and many other business ventures. Dunsmuir never got to live in this splendid castle since he died before it was completed. His widow and daughters, however, did occupy it for many years. One of Dunsmuir's sons, James, later became Premier of British Columbia. The castle is open to the public and well worth a visit if you are in Victoria. Click here for more information about the castle and its history.
