At the remains of what was once the grand entrance gate to Craigdarroch, I declared—arms spread wide like a low-budget Disney princess: “I’m going to see a castle!” Cue every Canadian, tourist, and possibly the squirrel perched on a nearby cedar going, “Well, technically…” Apparently, the entire population of the Western Hemisphere has been to Europe and now feels personally responsible for reminding others that real castles come with turrets, tapestries, and at least one vengeful ghost. Even the server at the Empress Hotel audibly sighed when I called Craigdarroch a castle. “It’s more of a mansion, really,” he said, dashing my fairytale moment with
Tag: craigdarroch
Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, British Columbia
“I’m going to see a castle!” I said joyously. “Actually, it’s not technically a castle.” said basically everyone in response, because apparently all of humanity has been to Europe and seen real castles. Even the server at the Empress who overheard my comment had to chime in and say it was too small to be a castle. I found this annoying because despite being an adult, I still find the ideas of castles to be enchanting and full of magic, but damned if they aren’t right. Even Wikipedia uses quotations around the word “castle” to denote that Craigdarroch is merely