Leaving our B&B after breakfast, we followed the coast and the suburbs of Victoria to the east and then to the north, past the ferry port that we would return to in a few days to get to Vancouver, and on round the peninsular to reach the Butchart Gardens
The Butchart Gardens are a series of much visited gardens near Victoria. They are named after their founder, Jennie Butchart, who started the gardens to recover the remains of limestone quarrying that had been left by her husbands cement business. Today the gardens are still in the family, cover 55 acres, are visited by over 1 million people every year, and had a number of themed sub-gardens
I was initially a bit skeptical about the Butchart Gardens. Often these "tourist honey pots" end up going for the lowest common denominator and supplying "entertainment" for the masses. Not so here, they stick to their main trade as a garden, and are very good at that. It is all well maintained, and they must employ prodigious quantities of staff.
As well as plants and flowers, the Butchart gardens are dotted with little statues and ornaments, like this stainless steel ball that we took our photos in.
But the main attraction is the variety of plants and water features that are scattered everywhere.
Down on the seafront is a little harbour where some tour boats can pull into today - though the vast majority of guests arrive by car - to be parked in a very efficiently run parking lot.