Ladysmith is one of those places you don’t realize you’ve been missing until you find it. Only a stone’s throw away (one hour and 40 minutes ferry from Horseshoe Bay or one hour and 10 minute Hullo Ferry to Nanaimo then a 20-minute drive) from Vancouver, delicious food, local art and a laid-back vibe are waiting to be explored—and if you’re lucky, you might even bump into Pamela Anderson. Here’s the best way to spend your next city-detox in this coastal getaway.

First Stop: First Avenue

Once you arrive in Ladysmith, your first stop is First Avenue, a street so charming it was voted Canada’s Best Street in 2017 by the Canadian Institute of Planners. Picture quaint shop fronts and historical buildings that will have you slowing down and breathing in the ocean breeze.

Along this street, look for Old Town Bakery for a dreamy cinnamon bun (just keep an eye out for the queue of locals and tourists that spills out the door and down the street). On a busy Saturday, this bakery has been known to make upwards of 96 dozen (1,152 for us non-baker folk) cinnamon buns with a range specialty toppings. Adventurous eaters can opt for a ‘bun of the month’ but, the OG cream cheese and sliced almond is a classic for a (very delicious) reason.

 

Art, Old and New

Once you have eaten (read: devoured) your bun, wander over to Ladysmith Gallery, where you’ll find local art from across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. If you don’t have the space in your suitcase for a new work of art, you can grab a hand-painted greeting card to remember your visit.

Make sure to also visit the three-storey Antique Mall, located just off First Avenue, in a building that was formerly a post office in 1908. Once an outlet for Ladysmith locals to send their items internationally, the antique mall now brings in items from across the world. The place is a treasure trove of history, each piece curated by a team of 33 Vancouver Island collectors. You’ll find unique treasures like a working hand-cranked music box from 1902, 1950’s Cadillac advertisements and shelves spilling over with hard to find vinyls. Keep your eyes peeled for glittering costume jewellery left behind by films made on the Island. If you have a spare $37,750 lying around, (or any remaining room in your suitcase) you can even buy a woolly mammoth tusk that doesn’t look a day over 15,000 years old.

 

Lunch at Fox and Hound

When you’ve worked up an appetite for more than art, head to Fox and Hound, Ladysmith’s traditional English Pub. The Tudor-style wooden beams are plastered with coasters from pubs across the world, brought in by locals and tourists alike. There are WW2 posters of Winston Churchill, portraits of Queen Elizabeth and ashtrays and bar rags straight from England. Though fish and chips (remember chips not fries) with a pint makes for a classic English lunch, the house-made seafood pie really takes the biscuit.

Hidden Gems

If you’re up for a little exploration 30 minutes beyond the town centre, you can find local artisans (quite literally) off the beaten track and stock up on everything from a jar of spicy cranberry dip from Yellow Point Cranberries to a charcuterie board carved out of local trees from Yonder Wood (seriously, bring a big suitcase).

Amidst these Ladysmith artisans, you will find JoVic Pottery, a gallery and studio, which has been up and running for thirty years. If you get chatting to potter Vic, he might give you a tour and a demonstration of how he makes his vases on the wheel. Further afield, you can find glass artist Ted Jolda’s gallery. Ted’s art can be found across Canada and the US, and in the collections of former president Bill Clinton and the late Queen Elizabeth. His signature glass pear ornament was even featured on the cover of Oprah’s O list back in 2001. (You get a pear! You get a pear!)

Credit: Mahle House

Dinner at the Mahle House

As the day winds down, head to the Mahle House, a beautifully renovated 1904 heritage house that has served Ladysmith residents for over 40 years. The Mahle House prioritizes sourcing local ingredients from Vancouver Island, up to and including the tables you’ll be dining at, which are carved from 90-year-old Vancouver Island fir trees. The new head chef, Julian Smith, is a B.C. local who returned home after training in Michelin-starred restaurants in London, and working in restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney. Julian says he is inspired by BC’s land, people and ingredients and that “after years in high intensity kitchens, [he] felt the pull back to [his] roots.”

The menu features newer dishes from Chef Smith like the albacore tuna niçoise (served with smoked egg yolk jam, olive tapenade aioli and crispy potatoes) and long-time favourites like the porcupine prawns (covered in shredded phyllo pastry and served on wasabi mayonnaise) that have stayed on the menu for 30 years, aligning with Julian’s hope to “honour the loyal guests who have made Mahle House what it is, while introducing new ideas that enhance their experience.”

R&R at Yellow Point Lodge

After your busy day exploring the town, it’s time to hit the hay. Ladysmith is home to the oceanside Yellow Point Lodge, where their motto is simple: “Eat, Read, Sleep”. The retreat offers cozy rooms in their main lodge or beachfront cabins nestled against the Douglas firs. In the morning, they serve breakfast in the dining room (slipper-wearing is encouraged). If you want to feel at one with nature, grab a kayak or bike and keep an eye out for orcas, sea lions, and deer. Or, you can enjoy nature from a distance and sip some wine, play a few rounds of crib in the living room and enjoy the panoramic views of the Salish Sea. Whatever you choose, it’s a great end to your Ladysmith getaway.