Rideau Hall

 I start today much like I left off, with a fall view inside the New Edinburgh neighbourhood.

A look down one of the side streets here; the fence we see at left is the boundary of Rideau Hall.

And down that road is this church. St. Bartholomew's is an Anglican church dating to the 19th century and is the regimental chapel of the Governor General's Foot Guards.

Back up the street and into a side street- Rideau Gate. This residence is 7 Rideau Gate, an official residence for the federal government used as a guest house for foreign dignitaries.

It lies across from the main entrance to Rideau Hall itself, behind me in this shot. I am looking towards a roundabout. A statue of Queen Elizabeth is mounted there, moved from Parliament Hill due to the ongoing work. Beyond that is the gatehouse for 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister, but still under renovation.

Now we're onto the grounds of Rideau Hall itself. Nearly eighty acres in size, the property has much of that open to public visitation. The Hall started out as the residence of the McKay family in the 19th century. Thomas McKay was the founder of New Edinburgh. When the government bought it, they began expanding over time and establishing it as the official residence of the governor-general, the Canadian representative of the Crown. The grounds are a particular delight in the fall.

This gate house is now the visitor's centre.

Many of the trees on site have been planted by various royals and foreign leaders, with small plaques at the base designating what type of tree and who planted it.

New Edinburgh Visit

For those of you not on Facebook or otherwise aware, have a look right here at a post from my writer's blog for how my weekend went. I guarantee yours was better.

The Rideau Falls are enchanting. On this particular day the flow was strong.

The fall colours along the bank caught my eye shortly before I crossed the bridge going over the east branch.

A view from above.

And this is from the overlook on Green Island.

Across the river again, to Leamy Lake Park on the Gatineau side.

And once more at the bridge.

From here I went towards some of the monuments occupying the park. 

This was actually my last shot of that day (the mobile battery gave out at this point and I wasn't able to photograph the west branch of the falls). This statue of Canadian soldier, doctor, and poet John McCrae is one of a matching pair; the other is in his hometown of Guelph, Ontario. McCrae is the author of the poem In Flanders Fields, written after the death of a friend during the First World War while he was serving at the front.

Earlier in this visit I had approached the main entrance of Rideau Hall, which stands amid some of the best addresses in the city. Across Sussex Drive is 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister. A police gatehouse is all we can really see of it, at left. And the residence is under renovations at the moment and the PM and his family are living at one of the residences on the grounds at Rideau Hall. At the heart of the large roundabout here is a statue of Queen Elizabeth II. With the work going on at Parliament Hill, the statue has been moved here. A fitting decision, I think.

Turning around, a look towards the main gate for Rideau Hall. The property is a bit under eighty acres, and much of that is accessible to the public for a walk.

Another turn and we see at right 7 Rideau Gate. This is an official residence used by the government to house foreign dignitaries during visits. Tomorrow we venture onto the grounds of Rideau Hall.

New Edinburgh

Today I'm starting a series of posts from the New Edinburgh area. A neighbourhood to the northeast of the downtown core, it was founded as a village by stonemason and businessman Thomas McKay (places named after him have been known to spell it as as MacKay, hence the United Church in this neighbourhood that I showed you some days ago). He bought the land at the east stretch of the Rideau River where it meets the Ottawa River in 1829, and was involved in the building of the Rideau Canal. The village took its name for Edinburgh in Scotland, where he had come from. His family residence later became Rideau Hall, and the streets in this affluent neighbourhood bear the names of he and his relations. The homes here are lovely to stroll around.

New Edinburgh is home to several embassies and ambassador residences. This is the Mongolian embassy.

When I saw this at a distance coming from the north, the tower made me think of an old fire hall- which its older section might well have been at some point- but this is a retirement residence. I took this shot from the south side of the structure.

I kept walking, on my way towards Rideau Hall, photographing some of the homes as I went.

These two houses are neighbours on a short street, Rideau Gate, which happens to be one of the most distinctive addresses in the city. To the left of me is Rideau Hall. To my right across Sussex Drive is 24 Sussex, residence of the Prime Minister, currently under extended renovation (the PM and his family are residing at a house on the grounds of Rideau Hall). The first house is 7 Rideau Gate, an official guest residence owned by the Canadian Government.

Its neighbour to the right is another embassy. South Africa has its High Commission here.

Rideau Gate joins Sussex Drive in a rarity here in Ottawa: a traffic circle. Walking across that gives us a view through the trees of the Ottawa River, still frozen over. The river here is wide, and the wooded area you see in the background is Rockcliffe Park, which is the next neighbourhood east from New Edinburgh. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Rideau Hall.

Totem, Inukshuk, And Gates

Departing from Rideau Hall, I stopped by the totem pole on the grounds, as well as the inukshuk. Both are good First Nations additions to the properties, in among the many ceremonial trees planted by dignitaries down through the years.

Here we have the front gate to the property, with its gatehouse. Most members of the public tend to come in through here, as the visitor centre is close by.

The front gate shares nearby neighbours- Rideau Gate is the street beside it, and this house is one of the three buildings facing the property.

The South African High Commission is another, and between it and the above house is another official residence, 7 Rideau Gate, used for visiting dignitaries.

And across from the front gate of Rideau Hall is the front gate for 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the PM. As noted in an earlier blog, the house is under renovation at the moment, and tends to be a bit difficult to see from the road anyway. This is the gatehouse for the property.

Lair Of A Dark Lord

Across the street from Rideau Hall is 24 Sussex Drive, the home of the Prime Minister (at present, otherwise known as the Dark Lord, Darth Harper). Unlike the White House, which can be photographed easily, the manor is hidden away behind trees and hedges, offering mere glimpses. Its gatehouse is the only building one really gets a look at from the street. The Dark Lord wasn't at home- if he had been, I wonder if my passing by might have given him reason to pause and remark, "I feel a great disturbance in the Force." 

On a side note, a few days back looking at stats for my writer's blog, I came across a strange search term for someone finding my blog. A former key adviser to the Dark Lord- a sleazeball lawyer who's been in trouble repeatedly through his career by the name of Bruce Carson- is currently standing trial on influence peddling. The search term someone used to find my blog? Bruce Carson Porno. Yuck!

Back across the street, this home is known by its address too: 7 Rideau Gate, an official residence owned by the Canadian government, and used for visiting dignitaries.

It stands next to the South African High Commission, which I showed you some days ago. The traffic circle that stands between Rideau Hall, these two homes, and 24 Sussex is one of a handful in the city.