Thanks Ladysmith!

Last week we spent a few days enjoying the small town of Ladysmith. Some friends were over from the mainland and only had a short time available to stop by. It made sense to find a dock to make it easier for them to access us. Also, the weather forecast was not good–50 mm of rain with 30 – 40 knot winds! We were close to Ladysmith so decided to go in.

In all my years living on Vancouver Island I have driven past Ladysmith perhaps hundreds of times, yet I can only remember one time that I turned off the highway to visit the town. In all our years of cruising in this area, we have never gone into Ladysmith Harbour. I’m glad we finally did.

The marina was great. The staff was friendly and helpful. The facilities are very good. There are indoor and outdoor areas where visiting boaters can meet. The weather wasn’t conducive to being outside on this trip but I can imagine it would be great in better weather. The harbour is well protected so very little wind reached us at the dock though the rain certainly came. I have no idea if we had the forecasted 50 mm but it rained steadily and at times very hard for a good 24 hours. Thankfully we were warm and dry on Cambria.

We made one excursion into town before the rain came in earnest. Ladysmith’s quaint main street is a short walk up the hill from the marina and it’s well worth the walk–even in the rain. We joined the cue to get cinnamon buns at the Old Town Bakery. If you’re in Ladysmith you must try them. They are well worth cuing for.

I enjoyed Ladysmith enough that I was tempted to spend a few more days there but sometimes it’s better to leave a place wanting more. So we moved on. Besides, it’s close and now that we know it’s there, we’ll be back. The cinnamon buns are that good. Also, I hear there’s a great tapas place that we have to try.