Colwood

Colwood is a city located on Vancouver Island. It is southwest of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. Incorporated in the year 1985, the city of Colwood has a population of approximately 15,000 residents. The city is in the boundaries of the Capital Regional District or Victoria Census Metropolitan area. It is in a region referred to as the Western Communities or the West Shore. In the Greater Victoria area, Colwood is among the thirteen component municipalities.

The best known landmark in Colwood City is the Hatley Castle, which is a Tudor Revival mansion who's grounds that were originally constructed as a house for James Dunsmuir. He was Premier of British Columbia and later on became Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. During the year 1940, Colwood almost became the seat of the Commonwealth Crown. After the beginning of WWII, the government planned to relocate King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and their children, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to the castle for their protection. In the end, they chose to stay within London and Windsor, close to the European front.

The Canadian Armed Forces was given the estate, where they adapted the site for use by the Royal Roads Military College. This college provided a naval training facility from the years of 1941 to the 1990's. In the 90s, the military college was closed. The estate became the campus of the public Royal Roads University and this facility opened in 1995.

Surrounding the original residence is a featured Japanese garden and extensive formal gardens. The Royal Roads University and these gardens are further surrounded by an urban forest that features a lot of the elements found in all the biotic zones of Vancouver Island, except for alpine tundra and coastal rain forest. The campus area features a bird and wildlife sanctuary that borders on a saltwater lagoon. From the majority of locations of the grounds and the gardens, it is possible to gaze across the straits of Juan de Fuca towards the Olympic Mountains situated in Washington State.

In the 1850's, Colwood City was first established by the Hudson's Bay Company. The company set up 4 huge farms to help supply the emerging Fort Victoria. Today, Colwood City is a thriving satellite, largely made up of residential properties. View Royal is the bordering town and the district of Metchosin is located towards the south and the district of Langford completes the border towards the west and the north.

Colwood makes up one of the West Shore municipalities of Langford, Metcoshin, View Royal and the Highlands situated to the west of Victoria. The West Shore region likewise known as the Western Communities stretches along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait, from Esquimalt Harbour to Rocky Point.

The community of Colwood has become among the fastest growing communities within the greater Victoria area, as the region offers numerous recreational opportunities and various facilities.