Hatley Park is a famous landmark in Victoria. It attracts a huge number of visitors every year. It is believed that this park is the largest natural complex with the status of a tourist object in Canada.

The vast territory of the park contains a whole world: magnificent gardens, abandoned fields, a small forest, and the gem of the complex – Hatley Castle.
It all started in 1906 when the Scot James Dunsmuir decided to build a personal mansion in the Scottish baronial style on this territory. This architectural style was very popular during the Edwardian period. Therefore, many rich people chose this style for their residences. As a result, the Scot built a beautiful castle consisting of more than 40 rooms. Its architecture is breathtaking, and its interiors are stunning in their sophistication and richness.

Six years later, the owner of the estate invited the most famous landscape designers, gardeners, and experts in botany to set up luxury gardens around the castle. Four theme parks were created on the territory of the large estate. Each of them had its characteristics and a set of flowers and shrubs. There were nine garden rooms next to the castle. Then there were farmlands, neatly surrounded by a beautiful fence. Beyond them was the forest that separated Hatley Park from the rest of the world.

At Hatley Gardens, guests enter the world of exotic plants that bloom almost all year round, tall cedars and firs that fill the air with coniferous aroma. You can admire a variety of birds in the Japanese part of the garden. There are even peacocks.

However, the Dunsmuir family lived in this beautiful house for a very short time. In 1939, they sold their castle and land next to it to the government of Canada. First, there was a naval training center, a special college, and a university. A little later, in 1948, the castle and the gardens around it were considered the National Historical Museum of Canada.