An Edwardian treat in Victoria, BC

The garden gate at the Prior House Inn.

K

It is always intriguing to see how deep footprint the Britons left even in the far flung parts of their empire. There are many things the little town of Victoria, BC shares with the state of Victoria, my favourite part of Australia; both were named in honor of the same Queen, both were prosperous due to a gold rush from 1850 until the first World War; and due to this, both had a building boom that left them with an excellent stock of Victorian and Edwardian buildings and private houses. And both still celebrate their British roots in a visible manner with afternoon teas and games of cricket.

K

The gardens at the Inn; I love the circle of ferns under the large beech tree.

K

To give our recent trip to Victoria a bit more local touch, we stayed at the Prior House Inn, a Tudor-style manor from 1911-1913 that was built by Edward Gawler Prior, a former Premier of British Columbia. It is a designated heritage building, with beautiful, oak clad interiors and exteriors with granite rock terraces and balustrades of stone. The English style gardens have beautiful borders combining perennials and shrubs and they have received several awards; they were beautiful even now, when almost no flowers were out. As the weather was typically damp and grey, what a treat it was to stay in the rooms in the evenings and read in front of the fireplaces. A little bit of old England, far away in the Western coast of Canada.