Vancouver Island Bed & Breakfast in the Cowichan wine region

In a little over two weeks we will say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. It seems time goes faster and faster and the years just fly by. Does it have something to do with age do you think?

We had the great pleasure of hosting wonderful guests again at our Cobble Hill Bed & Breakfast this past year from many parts of the world including most parts of Canada, a number of US states, Australia and New Zealand, Singapore, The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, Scotland and England and South Africa. Being a Bed & Breakfast innkeeper is such an interesting job as you hear guests talk about their travels and experiences and then get the opportunity to share with them the great things to see and do in your part of the world. It is a real “feel good” profession to be in and after 18 years in the business I still love that aspect of it the most.

Highlights this year included the long awaited opening of the Kinsol Trestle, a heritage attaction that completes another stretch of the Cowichan Valley trail portion of the Trans Canada Trail. The new Unsworth Vineyard opened up just down the road from our Bed & Breakfast and will be joined by one of our finest restaurants, Amuse Bistro, this winter. At the civic elections in November, the proposed Eco Recycling Depot planned by the CVRD just a kilometer down our road was voted down 2 to 1 which is a big relief as we had major concerns in seeing that built in this particular location.

We would like to thank all the guests who stayed with us in 2011. It was our pleasure to host you during your vacation, your get-away, your family or friend’s weddings, your visits to family or friends. We hope you enjoyed your stay with us, and especially thank those of you who took the time to write us a review. Have a wonderful Christmas, a safe and happy holiday, and we hope to see you with us again in the future. 2012 here we come!

Bed & Breakfast innkeepers not only provide accommodation and serve delicious breakfasts, they also often serve as ambassadors for their community and assist their guests with all kinds of information to enhance their stay. The question we are probably asked more often than anything else is “where to go for dinner”.

Fortunately the Cowichan Valley is home to a number of very fine restaurants so it is very easy to recommend these to our guests. We always ask them afterwards “how was dinner” and almost always the recommendation has led them to a great dining experience, often featuring locally grown or harvested foods.

Just around the conrer from Cobble House B&B

In Cowichan Bay, just a 15 minute drive away, you will find The Masthead Restaurant, another favorite with our guests. They specialize in seafood, but have something for everyone’s taste. All their entrees are served with “pot au feu” fresh vegetables and duck spuds, and they have a great wine list.

Back in Shawnigan Lake Village is another of our recommended restaurants, Steeples Bar & Grill, an “adventure in casual dining”. Located in a converted church, Steeples is a big part of the community as well. They have just launched their new fall promotion “Mediterranean Nights” and had a very successful Asian fusion promotion this spring.

While the bistro at Merridale Cidery is mostly open just for lunch, they offer hugely popular pizza nights on Sundays during the summer. Currently they are open on Saturday nights until mid December for Field to Table 3-course dinners. We met some of our guests at Merridale at one of the last pizza nights of the season and they really enjoyed the food and the ciders there! La Pommeraie Bistro is another popular choice with our guests, and it too, is just around the corner from Cobble House B&B.

While in a very rural location, Cowichan Valley restaurants are among some of the best restaurants on Vancouver Island. We’ll happily book a table for you when you come to stay, so you too can enjoy really fine dining in the Cowichan Valley.

Fall has arrived. It’s my favorite time of year, especially if we get some of that lovely “indian summer” weather; clear warm days, cool crisp nights. So far this fall of 2011 has been rather wet, but the sunny days have been there. The rain has greened up the grass everywhere and has taken the forest fire hazard level right down to normal, which is a relief when you live surrounded by forests as we do at our Cobble Hill Bed & Breakfast.

small maple changing color

People are harvesting the last of their produce from the many farms and private gardens around the Cowichan Valley. Lots of signs around the Valley selling everything from apples to herbs. There are still some flowers in the garden, and a few trees are starting to put on a colorful display among the west coast evergreens. The Cowichan Valley wineries are leaving the grapes on as long as they can to get every bit of sunshine possible to ripen the grapes, as the summer heat didn’t quite last long enough this year. Canadian Thanksgiving is just a week away, when we celebrate the rewards of long summer days of work and growth and the harvest that has resulted from our efforts. Time to clean up the flower pots and hanging baskets for another year, put away the patio furniture, and bring up a load of firewood to the house, so we can light the Russian fireplace at Cobble House.

Calendulas still add a colorful decoration to our fruit servings

We are open throughout the year, so come and enjoy fall in the Cowichan Valley. Happy Thanksgiving!