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Distinctive
and memorable walking tours year-round
in Victoria, BC.
Chinatown, Rockland, Fernwood, Old Town, James Bay and more! |
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Discovery Walks Calendar 2007 (tour descriptions follow the calendar) |
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| Sat. Jan. 6 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | ||||||||
| Sat. Jan. 13 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | ||||||||
| Sun. Jan. 20 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | James Bay shore | ||||||
| Sun. Jan. 21 | 10:30 am | South Jubilee | ||||||||
| Sat. Jan. 27 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | ||||||||
| Sun. Jan. 28 | 10:30 am | Rockland | ||||||||
| Sat. Feb. 3 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | Black History downtown | ||||||
| Sun. Feb. 4 | 10:30 am | Fairfield | ||||||||
| Sat. Feb. 10 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | ||||||||
| Sun. Feb.11 | 10:30 am | Humboldt Street | ||||||||
| Sat. Feb. 17 | 10:30 am | Chinese New Year | 2:00 pm | Chinese New Year | ||||||
| Sun. Feb.18 | 10:30 am | Chinese New Year | ||||||||
| Sat. Feb. 24 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | ||||||||
| Sun. Feb. 25 | 10:30 am | James Bay shore | ||||||||
| Sat. Mar. 10 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | Scandals, Saloons, Sex | ||||||
| Sun. Mar. 11 | 10:30 am | Fairfield | ||||||||
| Sat. Mar. 17 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | Rockland | ||||||
| Sun. Mar. 18 | 10:30 am | Point Ellice area | ||||||||
| Sat. Mar. 24 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | South Jubilee | ||||||
| Sun. Mar. 25 | 10:30 am | Christmas Hill | ||||||||
| Sat. Mar. 31 | 10:30 am | Chinatown | 2:00 pm | Humboldt Street . | ||||||
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Tours take place rain or shine. Dress for the weather. |
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Chinatown Walks
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| Victoria's Chinatown was founded in 1858 and in its prime during the late 1800s was the biggest Chinatown in Canada. Though it is much smaller
now, it will always be the oldest. Walk through Fan Tan Alley and
Dragon Alley, past colourful outdoor shops, the Chinese Public School and the Gate of Harmonious
Interest. Learn about opium dens, social history and the truth about the secret tunnels. Every Saturday at 10:30 am. Meet outside La Collina restaurant, corner of Government and Fisgard streets, across the street from the Gate of Harmonious Interest. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Chinese New Year |
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For the Year of the Pig, we have 3 special tours in Chinatown that will discuss Chinatown's history, but will also reveal many of the customs associated with Chinese New Year. Find out what gifts are appropriate, what the significance of the red scrolls is that hang beside doorways and what foods are popular. The significance of the Lion Dance will be explained and on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18 (following the tour) you will have the opportunity to witness it for yourself as it winds its way through the streets of Chinatown. |
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Black History |
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February is Black History Month and our tour will focus on the large Black population that settled in and near Victoria in 1858 and 1859. Where did they come from and why? Many lived and worked in the Old Town area and the tour will identify who they were and some of the joys, trials and hardships they experienced here. Topics to be covered are: the story of an escaped slave, getting the franchise, the "African Rifles" and a famous incident at the Confederate Saloon. Well-known black pioneers such as as Wellington Moses, Miflin Wistar Gibbs and Peter Lester will be discussed. |
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Rockland
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| This year's Rockland route is different from previous ones. We will start outside the old Spencer mansion, now part of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, discuss "Pentrelew" (the Crease family's former home), pass the fine old homes along Moss Street, "Galt House," one of Samuel Maclure's fine homes built in 1913, "Schuhuum" to find out what is in store for it, visit Langham Court and continue toward Linden Avenue. An amusing stsory from the Royal Visit in 1939 will be told. Sunday January 28 at 10:30 am Saturday March 17 at 2:00 pm Meet outside the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 144 Moss Street at the corner of Wilspencer Place.. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Fairfield |
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| Fairfield once was the personal estate of Governor Sir James Douglas and is now a tree-lined neighbourhood of heritage houses. Find out how Moss Street got its name, the history of the Carnsew Dairy, the Crystal Spring Bottling Company, visit the sites of the old firehaall and Sir James Douglas's barns, see "Fairfield" (the 1860s home of Sir Joseph and Lady Trutch), see where Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie's house used to be and finish beside a row of spectacular Victorian houses on Vancouver Street. Sunday February 4 at 10:30 am. Sunday March 11 at 10:30 am. Meet in front of Sir James Douglas School, Moss St. at Fairfield Rd. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Humboldt Street |
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Humboldt Street has been undergoing many changes in recent years an we will start by discussing some of those. As we walk the length of the street we will find out why it was called Kanaka Row at one time snd some of the people and industries once located there. We will find out about the history of the Church of Our Lord, St. Ann's Academy, St. Joseph's Hospital and the orgininal Catholic Cathedral in the city. The tour concludes outside the Beaconsfiield, an Edwardian bed and breakfast, designed by Samuel Maclure for R. P. Rithet as a wedding present for his daughter Sunday February 11 at 10:30 am Saturday March 31 at 2:00 pm Start at the corner of Douglas and Humboldt streets, next to the Executive House. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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| James Bay |
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| James Bay is Victoria's oldest residential neighbourhood. The tour will start at the Breakwater (which we will talk about) and follow the Dallas Road shoreline. Along the way we will see where the mansion of Senator MacDonald "Armadale" used to be, why the "war-time" houses were built along Pilot and Dock streets, see where World War II searchlight emplacements were located, see some of the heritage houses along Lewis Street, learn why the grave of Bertha Whitney is located nearby and end up at Harrison's Pond and find out why the yacht basin was built here. Saturday January 20 at 2:00 pm. Sunday February 25 at 10:30 am. Meet in the parking lot of the Ogden Point Cafe, 199 Dallas Road. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Scandals, Saloons and
Sex
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| On this lively tour,
savour the stories about Victoria in the late 1800s when it was a wide-open
seaport and Johnson Street's saloons were hangouts for prostitutes,
crimps, gamblers, smugglers and criminals of every sort. This tour is not suggested for young children.
The tour finishes in Centennial Square for a story about an opium
smuggling escapade that went wrong. Saturday March 10 at 2:00 pm Meet at the archway entrance to Market Square (near 560 Johnson Street) (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Point Ellice House neighbourhood
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| Point Ellice House is a National Historic Site, tucked into a heavy industrail zone beside Victoria's Upper Harbour. It is now an oasis of tranquility in the midst of trucks, factories and noise. However, it was once one of many fine homes along Pleasant Street, a lovely residential neighbourhood. Find out more about Point Ellice House and the O'Reilly family who lived there for over 100 years. Learn about the other houses and why, one by one, they were torn down. Also covered will be the history of the first sawmills in the area and other industries. Sunday March 18 at 10:30 am. Meet outside the main gates of Point Ellice House, 2616 Pleasant Street, off Bay Street near the bridge. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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Christmas Hill
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| Christmas Hill lies north of the city centre in Saanich. A beautiful, trail leads to the top of the rocky promintory, where there are views over a wide swath of the surrounding area. Hear stories of the McKenzie family, the Rogers' dairy farm, the murder of a Hudson's Bay Company shepherd, the proposed first Chinese cemetery and the Victoria and Sidney Railway. Note: Steps and steep walking in places. Sunday March 25 at 10:30 am. Meet in the parking lot of Rogers Elementary School, 765 Rogers Avenue. (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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South Jubilee Neighbourhood
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| This neighbourhood is a heritage gem, tucked between Cadboro Bay Road and Oak Bay Avenue. Street after street of almost intact heritage homes of the early 1900s were built for clerks, tradesmen and other members of the working class. Find out about the Lee family, one of the original large land owners in the area, about The Victoria Lawn and Tennis Club which had its outdoor and indoor courts here, about the first church in the neighbourhood, Bank Street School and the Christie family whose name is perpetuated in Christie's Carriage House Pub, where the tour concludes. Sunday January 21 at 10:00 am. Saturday March 24 at 2:00 pm. Meet outside Starbuck's Coffee (Fort Street and Foul Bay Road). (Return to Discovery Walks main page) |
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To make a booking or inquiry, please
contact John Adams at:
tel: (250) 384-6698; fax (250) 384-2833 discoverthepast@telus.net 634 Battery St., Victoria BC Canada V8V 1E5 |
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