Named after a 19th Century, Hudson's Bay Company trader, the breakwater pier at Ogden Point provides great views whatever the weather.
Victoria proved to be a good city for walking. Whilst on a recent visit, the car was left idle and the legs provided all the motive power needed to cover the downtown and harbour area. One walk I took was out to Ogden Point and this city hike delivered a range views, changing weather and even a blast from the past.
The breakwater curves out in to the Juan de Fuca Strait is narrow and it only gained safety railings in 2013, which I find amazing given the winds that can batter the body whilst heading out to the lighthouse. I found an image on Flickr that shows the pier before railings, and it seems that Victoria was suffering from a dearth of safety anoraks until the early 21st century. I wouldn't have attempted the walk without the railing in the high winds that were gusting when I was in the area, but maybe that's me being too risk averse. What was really apparent during the hike was how changeable the weather can be in the area. Blue to grey, gusty to balmy, I managed it all within 60 minutes.
My blast from the past moment came when I realised that the large cable laying ship docked in the harbour was the Cable Innovator. In my distant work life I spent time with Mercury Communications / Cable & Wireless. I can remember the Cable Innovator docking in London next to HMS Belfast. It was the pride of the C&W Marine fleet. The cable laying business has been sold multiple times since the 1990's, yet Cable Innovator was still resplendent in C&W Blue. These unexpected incidents that happen over lifer have the tendency of prompting memories. Time goes in to reverse, the rose-tinted specs are donned and the world is very different, just for a few moments.
Most of my Victoria trip images were taken with the OM-1 however, Ogden Point was captured digitally as I'd used up my film roll and didn't have another roll with me (note to self - old-school means better planning). The images above really show off the changing weather to great effect.
Come what may, a walk out to Ogden Point provides great views, whatever the weather.
