Gardens

Here on the second floor of the main house at Moorside, we get a look at the office of a prime minister. King would have work to do even while out of town, and this was the place it was done. It was also a place where his ideas for his home, and his ideas for the country, took shape.

Here we have King's passport- the first Canadian passport, likely a copy of the original. Prior to his government pushing for a distinctly Canadian passport, Canadians just used a British empire passport when travelling abroad.

Newspapers, in French and English, date from the Second World War, the second major crisis King had to steer the country through with his steady hand.

A glance out the window as I started to descend the stairs to the ground floor.

A display case is found here, with some gardening tools, a comic book about King, and one of his hats.

Nearby is a model for one of his follys here on the property.

Also in the display case are a series of documents and photographs- this one taken during the Quebec Conference of August 1943, in which King and the governor general, the Earl of Athlone and his wife, hosted President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.

Out to the terrace I went. The grounds and the gardens beyond beckoned.

The stone lion we see here is one of the numerous pieces on the property, standing alone. Not all of them got incorporated into follys.

Churchill came to visit a number of times during the war, and by all reports, the two men got along very well. I remember a story from Laurier House- the in-town home King lived in at the time in Ottawa. He had Churchill over to visit, and at the time, the British PM had been going through one of his heart ailments. King offered him the use of the home's elevator, but Churchill wanted to take the stairs with King, even entertaining the notion of a race up the stairs.

Another look at this beautiful home.

History

 The Willow Room is one of the guest rooms in Moorside, up on the second floor of the house. It was a favourite of his closest friends, and King himself would sleep in here regularly if he didn't have guests.

I liked this painting.

And this old record player on the second floor landing.

As much as the estate was a retreat for him, King had to bring work with him as prime minister, leading the country during two of the country's crisis periods- the second half of the Depression and World War Two. One room up here was his private secretary's office space. King himself was a contradiction- staunch Scottish Presbyterian with an interest in spiritualism and a sentimental streak. This room was occasionally used for seances.

The master bedroom is nearby. 

Reproductions of works by the Group of Seven can be found.

And here's the master bed, with an ornate radio cabinet in the background.

A look out the window towards the gardens. We'll pick up here tomorrow.

History

 I took another shot of the meadow at Moorside.

The house is particularly lovely, painted in the cream yellow motif of the estate.

As prime minister, King entertained not just friends and family, but world leaders. Among them was the American president Franklin Roosevelt, seen in a photo on this display outside the main house. Moorside was ideal not just for being a getaway, but a place to get work done.

He also was fond of dogs, particularly terriers.

A portion of the main house is open for visitors. Not as much as the last time I was here- a guide advised that the large ground floor open space was curtained off for a group of dancers who would be performing later. I went into the main entrance, where a wooden bench and stone angels from Britain are on display.

King had a fondness for collecting such things, some of which can be found randomly on the grounds, and others in the form of follys. These angels were once in Westminster Abbey.

A bust up on the second floor is of the great man himself.

Alongside a photo of him here at the estate with one of his dogs.

Moorside

 Two more looks at Kingsmere Lake today.

I stared back up the slope to the cottages.

And looked back at the water.

Here I approached the guest cottage.

Most people proceed from here to Moorside along the main path. But for those who know it, there's a secondary path, and the better route.

Finding a quote by King from his journals reassures the visitor that they are on the right path.

The path leads to a wide meadow, and here we have two displays. As King became prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, he understood that his country retreat needed to reflect that- a proper home to entertain guests, including world leaders. Moorside would be that home.

The meadow is wide, and surrounded on three sides by trees. This is what makes it my favourite approach to Moorside. 

And there's the house, at the far side of the meadow.