travelousness: Castles

Showing posts with label Castles. Show all posts

March 25, 2011

Craigdarroch Castle

Victoria, BC; Canada

Recommended visit time required: 1 hour

Parking: Free (on-site lot and 2-hour street parking)

Front facade

Craigdarroch Castle, completed in 1890, was the dream home of wealthy Robert Dunsmuir who amassed his fortune in coal. Sadly, he died the year before its completion and never lived here. The castle was left for his wife, Joan, who lived here until her death in 1908. The castle was owned by one other individual after the Dunsmuir daughters sold it, but lost it to Bank of Montreal due to unpaid debts. After this, the castle has been used as: Craigdarroch Military Hospital; Victoria College; offices for the Victoria School Board, Victoria Conservatory of Music; and currently as Craigdarroch Castle Historic House Museum.

Side of the Castle

Back of the Castle

Back porch

The interior of Craigdarroch Castle is very well furnished and staged to reflect the original use of the residence as accurately as possible. A brochure is provided with your entrance fee for a self-guided tour. An audioguide ($5) is available to rent, but I think the expense is unnecessary as there is a lot of information in the brochure as well as on the signposts in each of the rooms.

Don't forget to look up!

The Library

Drawing Room

Dining Room

Jessie's Bedroom

Stair landing

The Billiards Room

Robert Harvey's Bedroom... the green paint is original!

Effie's Bedroom

Dance Hall

Maud's Bedroom

The Breakfast Room

View of Mt Douglas from the tower

March 24, 2011

Hatley Castle

Victoria, BC; Canada

Parking: metered lot

Hatley Castle, the original home of Robert Dunsmuir, is part of Royal Roads University in Colwood, just 20 minutes west of Victoria. There are four guided tours offered in the castle when school is not in session. The Hatley Gardens, comprised of Italian Gardens, Japanese Gardens, and Walled Gardens, are open year round.

Interior of Hatley Castle

Hatley Castle from the Italian Gardens


Italian Gardens

Italian Gardens

Peacocks freely roam the gardens

Peahens freely roam the gardens

The Japanese Gardens

June 1, 2010

Hwaseong Fortress

Location: Suwon, South Korea

Despite the name, Hwaseong Fortress is not located in the city of Hwaseong, but in the city of Suwon. From Suwon Station, cross the street and catch any of the buses with a "Hwaseong Fortress" sign on the window.

There is a part of the fortress wall that has a manned ticket booth and will charge an entrance fee. While admission is minimal, there are still other parts of the wall that has no ticket booth and you can enter for free. I found this very confusing, but being a budget traveler, I had to ignore the ticket booth and continue walking until I found a set of stairs where I could enter for free. There is also a palace museum, but I never visited it.