BC Travel and Accommodations

Once upon a time in the twelfth century, four Scottish shepherds were having a particularly boring day…

As they followed their sheep from pasture to pasture, they occupied themselves by knocking stones into rabbit holes with their staffs. Naturally, things became more and more competitive as they began aiming for rabbit holes further away and the object of the game crystallized: to get your particular stone into the rabbit hole in the least number of swings…

Give or take a minor detail, this is the legend according to the old stalwarts at St. Andrews, although some scholars hold that the ancient Egyptians and Chinese respectively enjoyed varying versions of this contest. Whatever the case may be, we can agree that the windswept moors of Northern Britain were the birthplace of the modern game we so affectionately refer to simply as golf. It was the Scots who drafted up the first set of rules, who first created the clubs, the balls and the first actual course and who first made this now internationally played sport a success. Other than single malt whiskey, golf stands as their most popular export.

Fast forward to the present day. In these, the early years of the twenty first century, the countries with the most golf courses per capita are Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Wales, the United States, Sweden and England. It’s no surprise that Canada makes the top-ten list. Its vast expanses of wide open, ever changing terrain are a course designers dream. The only problem is that seventy percent of the country closes down for a large chunk of the calendar year to accommodate the nasty arctic outflows that turn much of the Great White North into… the Great White North. But God’s a golfer too, which is why he made British Columbia - a lush province with a sweeping variety of gorgeous terrain and a mostly temperate climate that allows for a comfortable 18 holes nine months-a-year.
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Vancouver Island is the largest island on North America’s west coast at 460 kilometres long and 80 kilometres wide. Factor in a sub-Mediterranean climate and a population nearing 1 million, and suddenly it’s no surprise that this landmass is home to some of the finest beaches in the world.

Let’s start on the southernmost tip of the island in British Columbia’s capital city of Victoria…

Meet Dallas Road, the famously scenic route that winds east from James Bay, along the city’s coastline where it eventually becomes Scenic Beach Drive - over 20 kilometres of Mazda-commercial-quality road that weaves around the coast all the way to the east side of the island. This popular route provides access to some of the city’s most amazing beaches and coast-side attractions. The Breakwater at the Port of Victoria is a cement jetty that juts out almost 2 kilometres into the sea with a lighthouse at its tip. A favourite with walkers, it provides staggering views of the American Olympic Mountains across the glimmering Strait of Juan de Fuca as well as close-ups of the massive luxury cruise liners that make Victoria a port-of-call. Heading east along Dallas Road, you can literally stop anywhere and find a beach access. Footpaths wind down the steep cliff-sides arriving at some of the most intimate and idyllic little coves this coast has to offer. Albeit, the beaches are a little pebbly along this stretch but there’s plenty of driftwood that serves as perfect temporary furniture! Whether you’re watching the para-gliders float on the updrafts off Fonyo Beach, enjoying children wrestling with their kites at Clover Point or strolling down the Ross Bay Sea Wall, this is one of the most amazing ways to spend a warm afternoon in Victoria. But the beach-scape begins to change as Dallas Road merges into Scenic Beach Drive…
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Vancouver is famous as a cosmopolitan centre with a kaleidoscope of flavours comprising its very unique and ethnically-diverse culture. It’s no surprise that this city’s proud patchwork heritage is most obvious on the stages of its live-music venues. And while Vancouver boasts too many musical establishments to name in their entirety, some are simply too good to ignore. We’ve shortlisted an intriguing cross-section of venues, all very different from one another yet all contributing a distinct note in the harmony of sounds that make Vancouver a city not just worth seeing but also worth hearing.
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