Hello there!

With the clocks changing, the temperature dipping, and the leaves dropping, we're running out of time to experience fall in its full splendour. But the Westshore has plenty of places to do exactly that—while we still can. Today we list a few of the best walks to see the colours of the season.

— Cam

COMMUNITY

5 Westshore walks, drives, & bike rides to enjoy before the leaves all fall

Japanese Gardens at Royal Roads: Always a beautiful place to stop, the Japanese Gardens at Royal Roads University are available for public access. The tea garden has been a staple of Royal Roads since 1910 and gets even more beautiful in the crisp air. With a range of wildlife and foliage—including bright red Japanese maples—this is an accessible place to watch the leaves change.

Galloping Goose trail: The popular Galloping Goose is a highly-visited trail in the fall and all year round, with options to cycle, walk, run, hike, and even horseback ride. You can hop on the trail at several points all the way from Sooke to the Victoria core, where it syncs up with the also-beautiful Lochside Trail. It also overlaps with the E&N rail trail in the Westshore.

Lombard Drive: This Metchosin road is a photographer's dream in autumn. With rows of brightly coloured trees that line each side of the road, the picturesque scenery is worth the drive.

Goldstream Park: For a beautiful hike, Goldstream Park is a local fall favourite. The scenic orange- and yellow-covered route will lead you to the incredible waterfalls and rivers in the area—you might be able to catch a glimpse of the fall salmon runs while you’re there.

Veterans Memorial Parkway: This major road puts the “park” in “parkway,” with trees lining either side and several adjoining parks along the way. Reader Jan Pelton wrote in to praise the strip’s “full canopies of yellow and gold,” which you can enjoy whether you’re driving or walking.

See more of the list of Greater Victoria's best places to see autumn trees at Capital Daily.

There are plenty of other nice sights around the region this season, of course—send in your favourite places (and your photos of them) and we may list a few more later this week.

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NEWS

Winnipeg man arrested in case of gunshots & arsons at singer’s Colwood home

In Sept. an apparent targeted attack on the suburban Westshore home of singer AP Dhillon made international headlines. Two vehicles were set on fire and a video posted online shows gunshots fired at the home. 

Now RCMP say Winnipeg man Abjeet Kingra, 25, has been arrested in Ontario and charged with arson and discharging a firearm with intent. Another Winnipeg man, Vikram Sharma, 23, is wanted on the same charges but police believe he is in India. 

One of Dhillon’s colleagues was staying in the home, but was unharmed, and fire crews doused the blaze. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the attack, multiple Indian media outlets have reported. The impetus appears to be Dhillon's music video with Salman Khan, a Bollywood megastar the group has targeted over his multi-decade blackbuck poaching controversy. 

Dhillon, who once attended Camosun and worked at a local Best Buy, is the first Punjabi artist to perform at the Junos. At the time of the attack, he had Apple Music's #3 album in Canada. 

Around the 'Shore

🔌 24,000 in Westshore lose power in Monday windstorm: The Sooke area was particularly affected, but there were outages throughout the region including swaths of Langford, Colwood, & Metchosin. Across BC some 290,000 BC Hydro customers lost power in yesterday’s storm, with just under 40,000 still awaiting into the evening for restoration. That included about 2,000 in Sooke and East Sooke and another 750 in Colwood. Trees and branches, some weakened by years of drought, fell and hit electrical equipment, BC Hydro said, and some power lines were brought down. See the latest updates here.

Were you affected by the windstorm outages? Send us your photos and stories for Thursday's newsletter.

🛣 Sooke's Charters Road has reopened to 2-way traffic, though some work (such as sidewalk railings and lighting) will continue until year’s end. Charters has added a new water main, storm drain, sidewalks, two-way bike lanes, street lighting, and parking area for the sports fields. Its completion will mitigate the extremely high traffic volumes funnelled through Hwy 14 this year. Mayor Maja Tait said that the project was done within schedule and budget. 

🚎 Langford seeks buyer for its 3 iconic red-and-green trolleys: The quaint diesel buses operated from 2007 to 2017, free or by-donation to move people around the growing community. But as BC Transit service expanded, the expense wasn’t worth it for the city. Council voted 4-3 this year to sell rather than keep paying $11k/year for insurance and maintenance; requests for proposals close Nov. 14. [Times Colonist]

🔥 Backyard burning resumes in Sooke as of Nov. 1 for properties of at least a quarter-hectare (0.6 acres). But check the venting index first, the district says, to make sure the smoke will disperse in the atmosphere.

🧯 Old Man Lake fire officially over, as of Oct. 31, ending one of the Island’s most prominent 2024 wildfires after 14 weeks. This means that all official Sea to Sea and Sooke Potholes trails are open—though the CRD will continue the closures of Kapoor park and the final 3km of the Goose through winter, citing danger / slope stability.

Community Events

🎁 Gifts & Wishes Holiday Showcase begins tomorrow (Nov. 6-Dec. 14) at Arts & Culture Colwood Society near Esquimalt Lagoon. Original work from local artists & Artisans. [Info / hours]

🌲 Yuletide Market Series at Bilston Creek Farm (Metchosin Road). A Friday-Sunday holiday craft & gift fair with candles, chocolate, ceramics, macrame, and more. Sizzling Tandoor’s food truck is on site, while Hustle & Dough is making pizzas on Sat. & Sun. [Info]

🏳 Make your own flag at the Metchosin Art Centre's “Make Things” session on Sat. 11am-3pm. [Info]

🧤 Green Team in Latoria Park: Fight invasive Himalayan blackberry & make new friends. Sat. 9:45am-1pm. [Info]

What’s Offshore?

A pair of container ships were anchored right off the coast of Colwood yesterday:

🚢 SM Qingdao, a 2010-built Korean ship sailing from 🇰🇷 Busan to Vancouver. 

🚢 Ever Steady, a 2006-built vessel sailing under the flag of Singapore from 🇺🇸 Tacoma to Vancouver.

Westshore Snaps

“This was shot in the basement of our building just for fun! Happy Halloween!” – Tina Martel, Langford (pictured). Photographer: Doug Willis. More from the shoot here.

“Came out of Westshore Town Centre to a flock of birds loudly crowing and looked up to see this creepy shot. 🎃” – Norma Hamilton 

That’s it!

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