A Little Privacy Please

Although James Dunsmuir and his wife had a long and successful marriage (10 children) they clearly had different agendas as they aged. The door above is off to one side of the castle and is a discreet private entrance to the building insisted upon by James Dunsmuir so that he could bypass his wife's penchant for large social gatherings and slip unnoticed into his study, the door of which was directly opposite this outer door. You may also notice that the doorknob is higher on the door than is usual - that was to discourage small children from using this entrance.

Hatley Castle

Yesterday's photo of the doorbell was taken at the main entrance to Hatley Castle, a photo of which was posted HERE last year. The view above is from the gardens on the other side of the castle that faces the ocean. Hatley Castle was designed by Samuel MacLure. The Dunsmuir family lived in it from 1908 to 1937. I have yet to visit the interior of the castle and intend to go back another day. I always get sidetracked by the splendid gardens. There is the Italian Garden, the Rose Garden, the Bog Garden, and an extensive Japanese Garden, all immaculately cared for and blooming in rampant profusion - we'll have flower photos here for the next few days. Click HERE to visit the Hatley Castle website.