Hatley Castle

I got all excited when Lady GaGa (the gps) found a castle for us to visit in Victoria!  Even more excited when I found we could drive right onto the castle grounds with relative ease!

Hatley Castle is part of Hatley Park and Royal Roads University and isn't a real castle at all -- at least not as I think of a castle.  This one was completed in 1908, long after the days of real castles, knights in armor and damsels in distress. Still Hatley Castle is photo-worthy and deserves mentioned on our blog.

The front and main entry of the Hatley Castle

James Dunsmuir had Hatley Castle built, complete with beautiful gardens and surroundings, using local stone. His common statement to the builders (reportedly) was "Money doesn't matter, just build what I want."

This side of Hatley Castle side looks out onto Esquimalt Lagoon.

The building is just 200 feet long and 86 feet wide; the turret is a mere 82 feet high so it's relatively small as castles go.  A stone wall surrounds the estate. At one time several miles of road interlaced the estate grounds and hundreds of men were employed to work the gardens.

A newer Royal Roads University building shares the view of this garden.

From 1941 until 1943 Hatley Castle served as dormitory and mess hall for cadets and staff officers at Royal Roads Military College. Now however, Hatley Castle serves only as an administrative building for Royal Roads University. It houses the President, Vice-President, Manager of Finance and Facilities and other administrative staff.

Whatever was lacking in excitement at Hatley Castle was compensated in fun on the grounds by our two rascals.  Click Dog Play to see a short video of Lexie and Ozzie -- mostly Ozzie, rolling in the grass.

Glad you could share our visit to the grounds of Hatley Castle.