Today we opted for a quieter day – a tour around the places closer to Ladysmith. We started by heading down to the Kinsol Trestle – just inland from Duncan. This is a wooden trestle bridge north of Shawnigan Lake. The bridge is part of the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway. The line was started in 1911 and the bridge was built by local farmers and loggers. The start of the First World War disrupted the completion of the bridge, but it was finally finished in 1920. The last train to cross the bridge was in 1979, and the trestle was abandoned 1 year later. Afetr that it gradually fell into disrepair, but was rescued by a community campaign in 2010. It reopened to the public after major renovation in 2011 and now forms a part of the Trans Canada Trail – a walking trail across Canada (15,000 miles).
From the Kinsol trestle, we carried on the tour to Cowichan Bay. Originally a fishing-style community with boathouses on stilts over the water, it has now been transformed into a tourist venue with all the boat houses having been ‘gentrified’ and turned into very nice houses with their own jetties. We headed down the pier, which was also a maritime centre for the restoration of old boats with various exhibitions. It was lovely to see a collection of old British Seagull engines with a notice saying “Old outboard engines don’t die – their owners kill them …”. I guess I have killed my fair share in my time!
We then had lunch at Maple Bay Marina and made our way back towards Ladysmith, but with a short stop at Chemainus. The town was originally a logging town, but as the logging companies moved out, the town declined. To try and rejuvenate the town a whole series of murals were painted around town. There are now over 50 of them – some showing historical views of the town and some more up to date representations of the culture and heritage of the area.
Another mural shows the arrival of HMS Reindeer at Chemainus. The ship’s commander, Captain A.E. Kennedy, was an acquaintance of Isabel and Thomas George Askew, pioneers of Chemainus and mill owners for many years.
