Bella Bella Walks the Seawall: Stanley Park (west)

Are you a fan of ice hockey? If so, you’ve probably heard of the Stanley Cup. It’s awarded every year to the team that wins the National Hockey League’s playoffs.

The Cup was donated by Canada’s Governor General, Lord Stanley, in 1892. Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16^th Earl of Derby was Queen Victoria’s representative in Canada from 1886 until 1893. Lord Stanley and his wife became huge ice hockey fans while they lived in Canada. He also loved fishing (and you know that I do, too) – what a great guy!

The Cup isn’t the only thing named after Lord Stanley: so, hockey fans, is Vancouver’s magnificent Stanley Park.

Stanley Park is an entire peninsula, with an area of about 405 hectares.

When Vancouver became a city in 1886, the new City Council’s very first task was having the peninsula designated a park. Considering how small the city was in those days, that was a really far-sighted thing to do.

Stanley Park opened in 1888, and was dedicated by the Governor General during a visit to western Canada in 1889. 

 

That inscription doesn’t mention teddy bears, but I’m sure Lord Stanley meant to include us.

  

Let’s walk clockwise around Stanley Park’s seawall. Hmmm … if you wear a digital watch, that might seem like a funny expression to you. “Clockwise” means that we’ll go in the same direction as the hands on an old-fashioned clock, from the left (western) side all the way around to the right (eastern) side.

Strolling into the park from Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood, we come to Second Beach. I guess that’s not the most imaginative name, but it comes right after First Beach in the West End, so … makes sense to me. Families have been picnicking here since the 1880s. There’s a great outdoor pool, too.

Beyond Second Beach, the seawall passes Ferguson Point. This was a military lookout during World War II. Nowadays, you can enjoy a nice meal at the Teahouse Restaurant. Nearby Third Beach is a quiet, sheltered stretch of sand with great views of English Bay and the North Shore mountains. The sand feels great under my toes.

North of Third Beach, we reach a strange natural pillar called Siwash Rock. “Siwash” is an old word from Chinook Jargon. This trading language was once used for commerce by many different people along North America’s western coast.

While the cliffs next to it are soft sandstone, 15-metre-high Siwash Rock is hard volcanic basalt, which hasn’t been eroded away as quickly.

That’s what geologists (scientists who study the Earth) tell us. The ancient Squamish name for the rock is Skalsh or Slahkayulsh.

Skalsh was a brave warrior and hunter who loved his wife and newborn child so much that he defied powerful supernatural beings for their sakes. These supernatural beings were so impressed by Skalsh’s generous heart that they gave him everlasting life as a pillar of stone.

Skalsh the Unselfish stands forevermore at the entrance to Vancouver’s inner harbour, a symbol of “Clean Fatherhood.” His wife and child were turned into stone, too; I’m told that in the woods near Siwash Rock, you’ll find a big rock with a little one right beside it. That’s pretty romantic, eh?

Near Siwash Rock, a plaque honours James Cunningham. He was a skilled stonemason who worked on the seawall for over thirty years. Construction of the 8.8 kilometres of seawall around Stanley Park began in 1917, and was finished by 1980.

Skalsh the Unselfish, like all the walkers, cyclists, and roller-bladers on the seawall, can watch big ships and smaller boats rush by. 

Vancouver’s port welcomes thousands of freighters, cruise ships, and other vessels every year. 

Officially called Port Metro Vancouver, it handled about 122 million tonnes of cargo in 2011, and over 650,000 cruise ship passengers!

 I don’t know how many of those passengers were carrying teddy bears, but I bet there were a lot. And I bet there were teddy bears on some of the freighters, too.

All these ships and boats pass beneath the Lions Gate Bridge.

This pretty suspension bridge was finished in 1938. Also called the First Narrows Bridge, it crosses Burrard Inlet to connect Vancouver to the North Shore. The road leading to the bridge from downtown Vancouver divides Stanley Park in two.

This seems like a good spot to take a short break, too! We’ll complete our walk along Vancouver’s 22 kilometres of seawall in my next story.

Til then, cheerio!

Story and photos © S. Clouthier