Saanich Peninsula – the joys of life

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Greater Victoria B&B

The weather on the Saanich Peninsula was simply glorious for the Easter weekend at the end of March. I daresay it was for much of Vancouver Island.

Saanich Peninsula - daffodils and lambs

We were reminded how wonderful this place is. It is easy to take things for granted. However, the first full days of Spring re-opened our eyes to the privilege of living in the Victoria area. My wife and I went for a drive circling the Saanich Peninsula from the south west, driving along the short northern tip and then returning “down” the east coast. It’s so compact that you can cover the whole peninsula in a short time but with very little traffic, a beautiful place to explore.

Elk Lake - Saanich PeninsulaWe are spoilt. No wonder visitors to our B&B return to Vancouver Island. Let me tell you why – in that short drive we passed all these places, in less than a couple of hours:

Finlayson Arm - Vancouver Island

  • The rolling hills and fields, the woods and lakes, farms and small communities.
  • Wineries (more about wine later). The grapevines are preparing for that process we know and love. You can visit numerous family-run Saanich Peninsula vineyards on summer weekends. Even a cidery.
  • Gardens. Forget The Butchart Gardens, if you can, and imagine little home gardens coming to life. Victorians (we don’t call ourselves that) counted 3/4 billion (with a b, not a m) blooms in February!
  • Parks. I noticed parked cars at the entrances to hiking trails at some of our parks. We took a walk the following day in the warm sun with great views.
  • The ocean. You are never more than a few minutes from the encircling coastline of Vancouver Island. It’s an important part of the beauty we enjoy with kayaking, sailing, fishing and crabbing, whale-watching, diving or just beachcombing.
  • Saanich Peninsula attractions include all the above with many others like Butterfly Gardens, Mount Douglas, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Sidney – the book town, Glendale Gardens, Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.
  • Golf courses – more than you can “shake a golf club at”, where you can play golf year-round.
  • Eat and drink at fruit stands, farm markets, restaurants, pubs and coffee shops.

After our jaunt we sat on the terrace of our B&B (strangely, there were no guests that weekend: their loss) with books and glasses of Saanich Peninsula wine. You should join us. Ah, the joys of life!

 

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Sip and Savour a Souvenir

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Greater Victoria B&B

Vancouver Island wine tours have risen in popularity greatly in recent years, matching the growth in local wineries. Within two miles / three kilometres of where I am writing this are five vineyards and a distillery.

These family vineyards on the Saanich Peninsula attract much interest from our B&B guests in the summer months. Your bed and breakfast hosts can help you plan a Victoria wine tours itinerary to visit the local vineyards.  Imagine the setting: driving around the rolling countryside of the peninsula (north of Victoria, south of Sidney) through its farmland and small communities. Every ten minutes or so you pull into a winery or perhaps a fruit stand for some sustaining fresh fruit for your travels. You are then greeted at a tasting room, probably by the family winery operators. With pride, they tell you about their vineyard: its soils and setting, its grapes and, most importantly, its wines.

One such is de Vine Vineyards (what a great name!). You drive off the Old West Saanich Road, five minutes south of the Butchart Gardens, up a winding slope and suddenly see a wonderful vista of the Saanich Peninsula and the Gulf Islands to the east. Park by their purpose-built tasting room (photo below) and prepare to sip and savour.

de Vine Vineyards tasting roomYou will learn about their organically grown grapes, some are Saanich Peninsula grown and others from the Okanagan, and the picking and fermentation processes. Members of the Windsor family will then describe their wines as you enjoy a wine-tasting. Discuss your favourites and then purchase your souvenirs of a great day exploring Saanich Peninsula vineyards.

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Visiting Victoria in the Spring

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Greater Victoria B&B

Visiting Victoria in the Spring makes good sense. 2013 is no exception, especially after the mild winter on southern Vancouver Island. Avoid the crowds, stay at low season rates at Victoria B&Bs and enjoy the new life all around as Spring bursts into life.

Here are some suggestions of what you might plan to see and do in Victoria in the coming months, in no particular order.

Victoria Flower Count

Victoria in the Spring is epitomised by displays of flowers. In February 2010 local residents counted 21 billion flowers! (Victoria likes to remind snow-bound Canada of its good fortune.) So where better to start than at The Butchart Gardens? Visit before 31st March to see their Spring Prelude indoor garden – within a week they transform their Blue Poppy Restaurant into this delightful garden oasis. See their Spring displays.

There are many more gardens to enjoy as March daffodils turn to April tulips and then the May rhododendrons and cherry bloosoms are in full bloom.

Do check our festivals, special events, displays and concerts prior to setting your vacation dates on the Victoria Calendar of Events. These range from the Victoria Film Festival in early February to the Swiftsure Yacht races in late May.

Victoria is located on the small Saanich Peninsula surrounded by the rugged natural parks, with lakes and ocean beaches. So, weather permitting, you can set out on foot or by car, or rent bicycles or kayaks and explore – there’s scope for taking it easy or having a tough adventure: your choice.

BC Legislative Buildings

If it is wet then consider indoor options like the Royal BC Museum, Saanich Commonwealth Place with a superb pool, Butterfly Gardens, Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, tours of Craigdarroch Castle or the BC Legislative Buildings,  select a venue for afternoon tea or just browse through interesting shops.

Your bed and breakfast hosts will be pleased to provide further information.

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The Magic of Christmas

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

The Magic of Christmas is a highlight for many of us in the Victoria area as well as those visiting southern Vancouver Island in December and early January. It is my very favourite time at The Butchart Gardens when my wife and I take a friend or two to wander around the familiar yet magical gardens.

It is not really gardens that we’ve come to see but lights, tens of thousands of them, which transform 50 acres into a winter wonderland (and that’s not hype). Benvenuto, the Butchart’s family home:

Benvenuto at The Magic of Christmas

with carol singers and musicians in the neighbouring piazza:

Carol singers at The Butchart GardensYounger children will be entranced by the miniature train scene and most ages will enjoy skating on the outdoor ice rink. Then children of all ages will not want to miss a ride on the Rose Carousel.  And that’s before you set off to explore the gardens. The highlight is always the Sunken Garden
Sunken Garden at Butchart Gardens - The Magic of Christmaswith the Rose Garden, Star Pond, Italian Garden and many other delights along the way including the Twelve Days of Christmas displays.
Butchart-Gardens - Twelve Days of Christmas- yes, eight maids a-milking.

The Magic of Christmas is open at The Butchart Gardens from 1st December until 6th January. Should your visit coincide with one of Victoria’s rare snowfalls this is even more magical. See you there?

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Victoria BC for Kids

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

Kids have rights too, and they know it!

You checked into your Victoria bed and breakfast, and yes, they accept children! The next morning, you spent several hours at the amazing Butchart Gardens (wishing you had worn sneakers), had afternoon tea (zero calories, of course), gone whale watching, and taken in the Royal BC Museum. And the kids, for the most part, behaved themselves – sort of.  So … does Victoria have family attractions?

Well, just take a look at this. There’s a petting zoo at Beacon Hill Park, and a goat stampede – every day! Your kids can pet alpacas, a pot bellied pig, even a miniature horse.

As we all know, the kids always have to go to the bathroom, so you scope out their locations at all the tourist spots. But sometimes that musical phrase we all hear, “Mom, I have to go to the bathroom,” means more than that. It sometimes means, “Mom, I’m bored.”

When you mention “museum”, kids’ eyes often glaze over and they think of the video games they have left behind, not to mention their favorite TV program. That’s when you can tell them about some of Victoria’s activities:

  • “There’s an interactive area in the museum just for kids. You can touch and explore and go back in time”. Its big screen IMAX theatre will enthrall.
  • Another good place if it is wet is Saanich Commonwealth Place whose pool complex includes a wave pool and waterslide.
  • Then there’s the Victoria Bug Zoo. What a great place, all about creepy crawly insects: bugs that glow in the dark, huge tarantulas and praying mantises. Kids can actually hold in their hands a 400 leg millipede.
  • Also downtown, those fun-looking little boats, Harbour Ferries, crossing the Inner Harbour take you all to such places as Fisherman’s Wharf.
  • And if the kids are tired of being told to stop running around (all kids need to run around, and scream too), there’s the WildPlay Element Park. They can zip from tree to tree in a forest canopy like the animals.
  • Fort Rodd Hill is great for more energetic explorations with its parkland and coastal gun bunkers. Neighbouring Fisgard Lighthouse sets imaginations buzzing with its exhibit of life in a lighthouse in the days of shipwrecks.
  • And if they have the urge to be an F-1 driver, there’s the All Fun Recreational Park where your kids can drive mini golf go karts on a raceway.
  • Think big – explore the universe. The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory has the awesome 1.8 metre Plaskett Telescope, there are stargazing events and everyone can travel the constellations in the StarLab Planetarium.
  • Play a family round of golf, putting 18 holes of mini golf style at Matticks Farm.
  • Explore the ocean and its ecosystems at the Ocean Discovery Centre at Sidney-by-the-Sea.
  • Butterfly Gardens, on the other hand, is totally delightful – hundreds of butterflies and moths, also birds, frogs and intriguing tropical plants.
  • … and let’s not forget food. Instead of burgers and fries had at home, Victoria is a great place for English-style fish and chips.

Victoria BC is a cornucopia of family attractions, and when it comes to kids: well, they know their rights, “Mom, find something for me to do?”

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Victoria BC weather – what to expect

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

Prospective guests often ask us what the weather will be like in Victoria to help with their travel plans. This is a fair question since their travels may take them from California to Alaska, from BC to the Prairies in addition to their visit to Vancouver Island. This simple question often entails a rather complicated answer so we’ll try to establish some facts here to guide you.

Our Victoria B&B website says “A moderate Mediterranean climate makes Victoria BC a year-round vacation destination.” but since we are on the coast weather patterns just have to be more complex than that. That’s understandable but what is harder to grasp is that the whole of the Saanich Peninsula comprises many mini-climatic zones. I remember looking at a weather map of the peninsula last summer noting that temperatures varied by 10 degrees C – and the peninsula is only 30 km / 20 miles long!

Victoria BC temperatures are similar to Vancouver and Seattle although our rainfall thankfully only about half of theirs. This handy chart shows average daily maximum temperures (Centigrade / Fahrenheit).
January 6.5 / 44
February 8.4 / 47
March 10.2 / 50
April 12.9 / 55
May 16.3 / 61
June 19.3 / 67
July 21.8 / 71
August 21.8 / 71
September 19.1 / 67
October 14.1 / 57
November 9.4 / 49
December 6.8 / 45

If you wish to convert temperatures from C to F try this formula. Multiply Centigrade by two, deduct 10%, add 32; eg 30C x 2 = 60 – 10% = 56 + 32 = 86F.

We all know that the London Olympics suffered from the wettest UK summer in over 100 years, Victoria too has had its summer record showing that coastal weather projections have to be taken with the proverbial “pinch of salt”. August and September 2012 were the driest on record with 3.8mm rainfall (1.2 inches). Yesterday afternoon at our B&B we enjoyed a balmy 23 degrees.

Japanese Maple in Victoria BC

Above is a Japanese maple in the garden of one of our Victoria B&Bs. This glorious weather is expected to continue for the next couple of weeks so get here soon to enjoy the best of Victoria BC weather and the beautiful October colours.

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Your Victoria B&B hosts

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

It might be said that your Victoria B&B hosts are a motley crew. This photo is surely proof of that. Further, we represent a motley selection of bed and breakfasts.

Victoria B&B hostsHere you see most of us, Victoria B&B hosts, members of the Greater Victoria Bed and Breakfasts Association (three B&Bs were absent here). We were enjoying a cool but delightful tour of the Butchart Gardens followed by a splendid seafood barbeque at Corbett House. (Here I should mention that Darren Corbett can provide all our guests with a three hour sailing trip on his 30′ yacht at a special rate of $79.)

I described our B&Bs as motley. One dictionary definition is acceptable “made up of units not alike” for we are all different, but I’m not so sure about “of different colours like a clown’s suit”.

In common, we all operate Saanich Peninsula B&Bs, ie just north of the city of Victoria, in quiet country areas or small communities (the peninsula is about 30km / 20 miles north to south). We all provide a full breakfast along with accommodation, and we all offer free smiles.

However we are different in so many smaller respects. Some are near the ocean or lakes, others in rural countryside; some are modern, others traditional; some may (?) accept children though I think none accept pets; guest amenities naturally vary; all probably have wireless internet and some have greater business facilities; some have gardens; some offer packages and massages; some are near Victoria others near Sidney.

To illustrate these differences I’m posing a quiz for you, with one question per B&B. The value in this is that the question may be one you relate to in searching for the ideal bed and breakfast in the Victoria area.

1. Which B&B has a landscaped train set in its gardens?
2. Where do ocean waves virtually lap up to your window?
3. Here your B&B hosts speak Dutch, un
petit peu Francais, und ein klein bischen Deutsch.
4. This B&B has a cottage secluded in the gardens.
5. The only B&B I know offering a guest car wash.
6. We are fluent in Japanese and French, and speak some German and Italian.
7. Sleep in a Loft with five acres of parkland in sight.
8. Here you enjoy breakfast overlooking Brentwood Bay.
9. Your host speaks French (from birth), Spanish and even a touch of Bulgarian.

Answers are to be found at your chosen Saanich Peninsula bed and breakfast!

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Victoria Events Calendar 2012

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

For many years the Greater Victoria Bed and Breakfasts Association has maintained a very comprehensive list of local events. It is a wonderfully helpful guide to our guests enabling them to make the most of their visit to Victoria.

Do take a look through our events calendar. It includes major tourism activities, local arts happenings and festivals. This is not just a list; it gives activity descriptions, times and costs and, most helpfully, a link to the appropriate website. One of our members, Jos Lindenberg, spends hours each year compiling this in her typically quiet thorough way (she will shoot me when she reads this!) and we are most appreciative.

Glancing through events for 2012, mostly about the arts,  I see details about art gallery shows, a farmers market, concerts, theatrical productions, Royal BC Museum exhibits. And I see Deep Purple are coming to town; I had no idea they were still performing. For more general tourism festivals you can view the Tourism Victoria events calendar. And, of course, your bed and breakfast hosts will have a wealth of local knowledge they will be glad to pass on.

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The Tapas Bar, Victoria

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

Dining in Victoria BC offers a myriad of choices. Not only does downtown Victoria have the expected wide range of cuisine styles but the options within these are much greater than you might expect. Victoria has more restaurants per capita than anywhere in North America, solely excepting San Francisco!

You will start the day with a (very) full breakfast. Then a day of sights and activities will be best served by a snack lunch with the anticipation of a fine dinner. Bear in mind that people eat their evening meal earlier than in Europe so do not leave this too late.

Here is a suggestion appropriate to either a light lunch or an evening meal, since it is so flexible: a tapas meal. Tapas originated in Spain with offerings of a wide selection of tasty shared dishes. You choose a combination of appetizers from salads, meat and vegetarian dishes, seafood, pastas and pizzas incorporating influences from different cultures. You then linger conversationally savouring the varied tastes. This provides a pleasant lunch break from a hard days tourism or a relaxed evening to discuss the explorations of the day.

The Tapa Bar in Victoria BC

The Tapa Bar in Victoria BC

Trounce Alley in downtown Victoria is a charming little oasis of quiet where you will find one such tapas bar: The Tapa Bar. Its lively eclectic atmosphere is a great setting for these Latin-inspired dishes.

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Butterfly Gardens – the tropics in Victoria

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Greater Victoria B&B

Butterfly Gardens gives a wonderful sense of the tropics even if it should be cloudy on a typical Victoria day here on Vancouver Island. Close your eyes and imagine …

You open the doors and are immediately struck by the humid tropical heat and by the wonderful smells of jungle plants. Then a butterfly flutters before your eyes and in the distance you hear birds calling. This is Butterfly Gardens.

This delightful place is close to the Butchart Gardens, Church and State Winery and the Raptors birds of prey display. So consider them all as a wonderful days package on your visit to Victoria.

Butterfly Gardens in VictoriaTropical plants like banana plants, vines, palms and over 200 species of orchids provide the lush setting in which you will see 3,00o butterflies from 75 species. There are many moths – look out for the Atlas Moth, the largest in the world and read about its fascinating life cycle. See charming birds including parrots, flamingoes and ducks swmming in the stream and pond, frogs and tortoises.

Click to see Victoria Butterfly Gardens on YouTube. Better still, pay the Gardens a visit. Your bed and breakfast hosts will be pleased to tell you more.

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