Fisgard Lighthouse

Fisgard was lit on 16 November 1860 to guide ships into Esquimalt Harbour, the first permanent light on the Canadian Pacific coast, built with brick shipped from England and a keeper, George Davies, brought out with it. It stands on a small island joined to the shore by a causeway, white tower on a red brick keeper's house, and was automated in 1928; the keeper's rooms are now a small museum on wrecks and the lighthouse service. The site shares a ticket with Fort Rodd Hill, a coastal artillery battery built in the 1890s to defend the naval base, with gun emplacements, magazines and searchlight positions still in place.

What you actually see

• The 1860 tower - the first permanent light on Canada's west coast.
• The keeper's house - brick rooms with displays on wrecks and the service.
• Fort Rodd Hill - three artillery batteries with guns, magazines and tunnels.
• The harbour view - naval traffic entering Esquimalt past the point.

When to go

April to October for full opening; the site reduces hours in winter. Storm-watching in autumn suits the exposed causeway. Sunset light on the red brick is good.

Honest expectations

The causeway floods and closes in high seas and storms. The tower interior is small and the climb is a narrow spiral. Fort Rodd Hill takes as long as the lighthouse.

Nearby

Victoria lies east; the Juan de Fuca coast runs west.