Vancouver – Stanley Park – Part 1

This extract is from ‘Travel Tales from Exotic Places like Salford’

Stanley Park is the result of remarkable foresight. In 1886 the newly-created Vancouver city council petitioned the federal government to set aside the then swampy peninsula as
a park. The petition was granted and in 1888 Lord Stanley, the Governor General of Canada, dedicated the park ‘to the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds, and
customs for all time’. Today, Stanley Park welcomes million visitors per year and for most of those people it is Vancouver’s outstanding attraction. The park occupies 1000 acres of a headland that juts into the Burrard Inlet. There are beaches on the western side, magnificent rose and rhododendron gardens, intriguing sights, and plenty of fresh air. The dense forest comprises Douglas fir, hemlock, and western red cedar, with an underforest of deciduous maples and alders.