Hatley Castle

It's a stunning location with waterfront, a huge front lawn (watch for the goose poop), the gardens and the stately castle. Today was stunningly beautiful and sunny.

We stopped for an hour so that our 16-year-old Shih Tzu could enjoy the sunshine after a long hard winter. She's in her last days and we had her laying on blankets in the shade. A parking officer stops his little vehicle and gets out to take a closer look. Warns us that our dog (who hadn't even lifted her head from her nap) should be wearing her leash. My husband explains that the dog is very old and can barely stand, but attached the lease to her harness as he watched. Instead of doing the respectful, considerate thing, he doubles down and tells us that other people could complain and the dog needs to be leashed at all times.

So on top of now having to pay for parking, we have an overzealous employee enforcing the rules. He even ticketed a driver as he returned to his car and was getting into it. Look, I'm all for following rules, but enforcement should show compassion and be respectful at all times. A degree of professionalism is required when dealing with members of the public. So even after my dog is gone, I won't be going back. And this is my Clemmie, probably the oldest canine resident of Colwood for over a decade.

Gorgeous castle where X-men movies were filmed. Beautiful Italian, Japanese and Rose garden. Wonderful way to spend an afternoon. No crowds either.

Beautiful and inspiring grounds overlooking the Esquimalt Beach, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic range in Washington State. Lovely gardens, the castle and the nice view make this a lovely place for a walk

The Hately castle aka X-men and Deadpool. Such a beautiful and unique location. It's free and so worth the stop in. The garden is beautiful and seeing the castle is so stunning. Highly recommend visiting this place if you came to Vancouver island.

I did not realize this place they film X-man at the begin of the trip. It has the very large garden and gorgeous garden. The air is fresh and I can feel it through my lung while breathing. Just a pity we could not go inside at have a closer look.

Very historic castle located inside the Royal Roads University campus. We came in the morning before the open and there is no too many tourists we can fully indulge ourself into the natural and beautiful architecture here. There is also Japanese garden and Italian garden beside the castle you can enter for free. The castle is not allowed to enter by yourself you have to buy a ticket with guiding tours and the guide will explain very detail the history of the castle and how it transformed to the one we look nowadays. Lots of information from this journey and you will love it. Good to spend 1-2 hours here plus you can roaming around the beautiful campus too.

This place is amazing!!! absolutely beautiful and have had a great experience every time I have visited. The gardens are beautiful and are so lovely to walk through. My favourite gardens are the Italian garden and Japanese gardens, they are both just stunning. I love all the history the site holds and the castle is magnificent. The staff there are all friendly! This one guy was telling me facts about peacocks! My only problem though is the washrooms. The only ones I really found were the ones at the bottom of the castle and there was only one stall. Had to wait for awhile cuz there was a lineup. Everything else though is just so great. Definitely somewhere you have to visit!