Selkirk Trestle 1 - Looking North

One of the most distinctive features of Victoria is the body of water called The Gorge. I've mentioned before that no matter where you are in the city you are never far from the water. One reason for this is that the city is located on the pointed tip of Vancouver island and so is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the east, south and west. The Gorge is another reason we are always close to water. It is a long finger of the ocean (6 kilometers from the Selkirk Trestle to Portage Inlet) that penetrates the city and adjacent municipalities and provides a great deal more shoreline. Where I live in Vic West, for instance, is only a few minutes walk southwards to the Songhees and West Bay Walkways that skirt the Inner Harbour. A few minutes walk north brings me to the shores of the Gorge. The Selkirk Trestle marks the eastern end of The Gorge where it widens and becomes Selkirk Water and then the Upper Harbour. It's called a trestle because it was originally built as a rail crossing for the Canadian National Railway that ran a line out to Sooke. That line carried a train called "The Galloping Goose" and the name has been carried over to the trail that now follows the rail right-of-way. Selkirk Trestle is part of that trail and is reserved for cyclists and pedestrians.