Canada Guide
Vancouver Island
Craigdarroch Castle
Address: 1050 Joan Crescent
Opening time: Daily: mid-June to early Sept 9am–7pm; rest of year 10am–4.30pm
Price: $11.50
Website: www.craigdarrochcastle.com
Craigdarroch Castle is perched on a hilltop in Rockland, one of Victoria's more prestigious neighbourhoods. It was built by Robert Dunsmuir, a caricature of a Victorian politician, strike-breaker, robber baron and coal tycoon, who was forced to put up this gaunt Gothic pastiche to lure his wife away from Scotland. Only the best was good enough, from the marble, granite and sandstone of the superstructure to the intricately handworked panels of the ceilings over the main hall and staircase. The dastardly Dunsmuir never enjoyed his creation: he died in 1889, two years after the castle was begun and a year before it was finished. Among the 39 rooms there's the usual clutter of Victoriana and period detail, in particular some impressive woodwork and stained and leaded glass. To get here by bus take the #11-University or #14-University from downtown to the foot of Joan Crescent, two minutes' walk from the castle. If you decide to walk the whole way, allow 45 minutes from the Inner Harbour.