…the Quaint Old Burying Ground

There is always an old burying ground, isn’t there? Well, here in Victoria it’s close to downtown, next to Christ Church Cathedral on Quadra.

While you can read an extensive history of the old burying ground at the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria site (http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/psp/html/reports/history/index.htm), here are some interesting notes:

• The first burial in the old burying ground was in 1855
• In 1859, the City moved buried folks from the original Fort Victoria cemetery to the old burying ground
• The old burying ground was closed in 1873. Why? See my interesting story below…
• In the early part of the 20^th century, someone had the brilliant idea to remove most of the headstones. Chaos ensued!

A bit of an interesting story for the old burying ground. It got crowded – very crowded very, very quickly. Apparently there are over 1,300 people buried there, in what is a very tiny area of land. Once it got too crowded to add more, they set up Ross Bay Cemetery (see “R”), and over time, the old burying ground became overgrown, tombstones were vandalized, and records were lost. No one knew for sure who was buried there, or where they were buried. Please do take the time to read about the full history – it’s a really cool story!

According to the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria (you have to LOVE a city that celebrates cemeteries, and give guided tours of them every Sunday!), there was a project undertaken in 2009 to map out the old burying ground. At the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria website, you can find a burial database and a walking tour of the old burying ground (http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_pn.htm). Very cool!

I like the old burying ground, although it doesn’t always feel safe to me – not due to the dead, mind you. There are often people sleeping or camped out in the park, so when I do go, it’s in the daytime. It seems like, however, a very restful place. And, of course, as with most good old cemeteries, there are ghost stories. According to the Vancouver Island Paranormal Society, there are a couple of spirits hanging out in the old burial ground. I don’t know. I think most folks would rather haunt where they lived than where they were buried, but that’s just me.

Below I present a few pictures I took on a recent visit to the old burying ground.  Also, if you go to the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria, you will find a wonderful picture gallery with pictures old and new that give you a taste of what the old burying ground must have looked like when it was full up. http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/psp/php/photo_gallery.php.

I just want to add here that I LOVE cemeteries. Someday, I am going to drive around the island and stop at every cemetery I see.

The restored section of the cemetery

This next one interested me particularly because it’s the person whom our street is named for!

Some of the monuments

The war memorial

Some of the other gravestones that remain (or, more likely, been replaced as part of the restoration process)

The cathedral in the background

Websites of Interest

• Old Burying Ground at Old Cemeteries Society if Victoria: http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_pn.htm
• Vancouver Island Paranormal Society: http://www.vanisleparanormal.ca/the-old-burying-ground-pioneer-square/

 Part of the April A to Z Challenge.

…Clover Point

(Point being the “P” word in question – just letting you know)

Clover Point is part of the Dallas Road/Beacon Park landmarks I’ve already talked about in this Challenge. It’s also part of a larger stretch of land called Clover Point Park, which includes an off-leash dog park, lots of benches looking out at the incredible views, and lots of places to access the beach. You can read more about the history of Clover Point at the Beacon Hill Park History site (http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org/contents/appendix_C.htm). It has a much more interesting history than I thought!

If you keep walking past Clover Point, you will be strolling along the sea wall, and across the street from Ross Bay Cemetery (to be featured soon!)

There is always something going on at Clover Point – ship watching, beach walking, surf sailing, hang gliding, kite flying, sail boating, Shakespeare in the Park, festivals of all kinds, even movie and TV show filming. I love walking or running down that way, especially on a sunny day!

Looking towards Clover Point

Activities along Clover Point

Looking beyond

Along the Sea Wall

Looking back at Clover Point from the Sea Wall

Websites of Interest

• Clover Point at Beacon Hill Park History: http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org/contents/appendix_C.htm
• Clover Point at Victoria Explorer: http://www.victoriaexplorer.com/see/clover-point-park/
• Clover Point at Walking in Victoria: http://walkinginvictoria.com/clover-point/

Part of the April A to Z Challenge.

…Ogden Point

This will be a short post today – it’s mid-way through the A to Z Challenge, and I’m feeling a bit baked right now. I encourage you to visit the websites linked below to find out more about my topic of the day.

Ogden Point is where the cruise ships dock. There aren’t any cruise ships yet, but they are coming starting next week until the first week of November. Tourist season…sigh.

Anyway, in addition to the dock, there is a breakwater (built in 1916) that stretches out protecting the dock from, well, I guess waves. You can walk the length of the breakwater to where the lighthouse is. It’s a really nice walk, and now has railings. It didn’t use to have railings, but, to the protests of many, they put up railings a year or two ago so that people who didn’t feel safe walking on the breakwater now can enjoy it too. If you want to read more about the controversy of the railings, I’ve included a couple of links to articles below. And if you want to see what it looked like before the railings, go to Ogden Point at Explore Vancouver Island (http://www.explorevancouverisland.com/Ogden_Point_Victoria_BC.htm.)

A view from Dallas Road

The Sundial

The Breakwater restaurant

Plaques

You can walk below if you’re feeling adventurous

Looking towards the docks

Soon, this is what we will be seeing

The murals on the side

Walking out

And walking out at night (just because it’s cool)

Walking back

Websites of Interest

• Ogden Point at the Harbour Authority: http://gvha.ca/f_ogdenpoint.php
• Ogden Point: http://www.ogdenpoint.org/things-to-do/breakwater-walk/
• Ogden Point at Explore Vancouver Island: http://www.explorevancouverisland.com/Ogden_Point_Victoria_BC.htm
• Ogden Point Breakwater at Walking in Victoria: http://walkinginvictoria.com/ogden-point-breakwater/
• Handrails to be installed on Ogden Point breakwater: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/handrails-to-be-installed-on-ogden-point-breakwater-1.26650
• Ogden Point breakwater reopens with railings installed and good reviews: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/ogden-point-breakwater-reopens-with-railings-installed-and-good-reviews-1.142993

Part of the April A to Z Challenge.

…the Niagara Grocery Store

The Niagara Grocery store is our “corner” store. Well, there is another, larger grocer closer to us, as well as another corner-like grocer/confectionery, but the Niagara Grocery is where I prefer to go for produce and meats (locally grown and organic), as well as some more specialty items I can’t find at the larger store.

The Niagara Grocery has been a fixture in our neighbourhood since 1911, and is apparently Victoria’s oldest grocery store. The current owners bought it a few years back and restored it, bringing it back to bustling life. It is run and staffed by really nice people, and they offer a veggie box program which I love (lots of locally grown seasonal veggies every week!).

So, this has been a short post, but it is for one of the places I visit the most!

Websites of Interest

• Niagara Grocery website: http://getfreshwithalocal.com/
• Reinventing the Corner Store: http://duetvictoria.com/blog/reinventing-the-corner-store-niagara-grocery/

Part of the April A to Z Challenge.