Sooke - anyone out there know Sooke ?
 

Just wondering whether anyone has visited recently?

Does July 2007 count as recently? :)

This seems like a perfect question for Meetsthehare!

Carmanah

That is exactly the time we visited!

We had an absolutely great time here - just wondering whether the development at the end of East Sooke Road was started. In our view it would have ruined the place. Be nice if it never got off the ground.

Here I am! I don't know about the development in East Sooke, but I can check. I'll have a look at today's Sooke News and see if there's anything reported about it.
There is a hotel being built just down the road from us on West Coast Road that has created a lot of controversy; for some reason the Sooke council thought it would be a great idea, and they're even subsidizing it with taxpayers' money. So quite a few of us have been snarling about that.
Sooke's quiet small-town atmosphere is very appealing to those of us who live here, but the council seems ambitious about turning it into a typical suburb. This worries us a little bit.

Hi Meesthare

Sooke is in our thoughts a lot!

We are very tied with holidays now as our son has just started school so our previous ability to come and go as we pleased has diminished. We are very time poor.

Big trips have become annual rather than 4 times a year. this summer is a toss up between SC & GA or VI. Both are similarish coastal areas with a small town feel areas and great wildlife.

Still think Sooke is the greatest small town that we have ever visited and there have been thousands. I do wonder sometimes why progress has to mean destruction. In our local town there has been an ugly government building set in the sand dunes for 50 years. They moved out of the building to cut costs and instead of returning the area to dunes simply allowed a developer to build even uglier houses on the site.

Hi, Markrosy - it's always lovely to hear that visitors have enjoyed themselves in our area - do get in touch when/if you're able to come back!

A big change that is coming in Sooke is that they are working on making it attractive for cycling tourists. This will make it a great place for families who want healthy adventure holidays; such as biking up the Galloping Goose Trail (http://averagejoecyclist.com/?p=551) and then cycling into Sooke. At the moment though, it is still not suitable for cycling tourists, as I wrote about here: http://averagejoecyclist.com/?p=617 . However, the mayor of Sooke responded to my criticisms and explained the future plans to improve Sooke for cyclists - http://averagejoecyclist.com/?p=946 - sounds pretty exciting and encouraging. I am looking forward to being able to explore this town properly in the near future, as other people have had such positive experiences of it.

My DH and I spent the month of May there this past spring. We were volunteering to help set up the new farm at Sooke Harbour House. We loved every minute of it and it is spectacular.
We didnt get a chance to do any cycling but hiked when we could.

Wonderful that you were part of that volunteer group! Byron, the head gardener at Sooke Harbour House, told us about what a great job you folks were doing.

For anyone who will be visiting the area: there is a tour of the gardens at Sooke Harbour House every morning at 10:30. They only grow edible plants there, and everything they grow is used in their kitchen. The inn and restaurant are certainly upscale and pricy, but there is nothing snobby or pretentious about the people there. The garden tour is free (even though on the website it says it costs $10 if you're not staying at the hotel) and fascinating. You get to taste all kinds of things that you didn't know you could eat. We live nearby and had several sets of visitors this year that took the garden tour; I went with them two or three times and learned something new each time.