Former coal baron’s Victoria castle now a popular tourism – and wedding – spot
VICTORIA — The grey, cool mist of an autumn morning briefly hides the full glory of the castle on the hill.
But the fog soon gives way to bright sunshine, and light shining on stained-glass windows spreads a kaleidoscope of colours across a decked-out 19th century dining room table.
A step inside Craigdarroch Castle is a walk back into history, when a mighty coal baron built a monument on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city of Victoria to announce his stature and prominence as one of the richest men in Western Canada.
Scottish immigrant Robert Dunsmuir never did get to live in his industrialist showpiece home. He died in 1889, months before construction was completed in 1890.