DESTINATIONS CANADA | VICTORIA


CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Race Rocks Lighthouse; The Butchart Gardens; a seal; Malahat Skywalk’s Overhang PICTURES: Ben Johnson; Destination Greater Victoria; Destination Canada


ASK THE expert


“Often described as quaint, Victoria offers sightseeing


opportunities for visitors of all ages. It’s walkable, with much activity around the picturesque Inner Harbour – boats of all sizes include ferry services to Washington state in the US,


whale-watching vessels, pleasure boats, water taxis and floatplanes. Victoria retains much of its colonial heritage, including the Parliament Buildings and iconic Fairmont Empress Hotel. Deep ties to its


Indigenous culture are evident on a visit to Thunderbird Park.” Denise Hunn,


Canada programme manager, Prestige Travel


of whales in the deep-water harbour of Victoria, more than 500 humpbacks now thrive in the strait that sits between Vancouver Island and Seattle. Chasing glimpses of the giants, the boat follows in the wake of their lunging breaches and flicking tails to the protected waters around Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, accessible only via an authorised tour. Accompanied by a canopy of swooping bald eagles,


we approach the rocky outcrop that appears stranded in the middle of the sea. Discernible from afar by its solitary lighthouse, as we draw nearer it’s clear that the rock isn’t as lonely as it seems. A colony of barking seals is strewn across the sunbaked shore. The sound is close to roaring, emanating from both the enormous Pacific harbour seals and fearsome northern fur seals. However, the elephant seals are the ones who rule the rocks; they can measure up to five metres, and equal Canada’s charismatic grizzly bears in their ferocity. Away from the wind-whipped seas, I familiarise


myself with Canada’s other ancient giants in the forests outside Victoria. Approaching the spiralling column of the Malahat Skywalk, a year-round attraction that combines a boardwalk through the forest canopy with the 10-storey tower, I’m dwarfed by colossal red cedars, spindly Douglas firs and the rust-red trunks of the native arbutus tree. Yet their soaring branches start to blend into the canopy as I climb the path to the summit, where I soak in the panoramic views over a quintessentially Canadian scene: thick forests that cling to quiet mountain ridges along the Saanich Peninsula. The Skywalk’s Overhang


34 25 JUNE 2026


Elephant seals rule the rocks;


they can measure up to five metres, and equal Canada’s grizzly bears in their ferocity


opened in May, inviting visitors to step over the edge into a glass cube suspended 250 metres above sea level, with a dizzying view of mountains, forests and ocean below.


GARDENS AND GHOSTS Victoria is known as Canada’s ‘city of gardens’, with carefully curated estates surrounding the city. I trade wild woodlands for meticulously manicured parks at The Butchart Gardens, a 13-mile drive from downtown. Strolling through its winding laneways, the scent of pine is superseded by soft, fragrant flowers. These blooming flowerbeds lead me through the shade of the Japanese garden, where moss clings to gnarled tree trunks, until the pebbly paths culminate at the gently flowing Tod Inlet. Back in Victoria, rose petals also perfume the air on the gated, garden-flanked path to Craigdarroch Castle, a Scottish baronial pile bordered by pinstripe lawns. This ‘mini-Balmoral’ has stood on the hilltop since 1890, a relic of the British nouveau riche who designed the city’s colonial sites. Guide Johnny Brenneman recounts stories of family feuds at the castle as we continue our journey on his touring pedicab (Journey by Johnny tours start from


² travelweekly.co.uk


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