Why is it the second time you do something you realize that you missed so much during the first experience? I had the opportunity to tour Dundurn Castle this past week and though we did a similar tour a few years back as a family, I found that nothing beats the second time around. That said, if you’ve been to Dundurn Castle in Hamilton before, I highly recommend doing it again. And for those of you who’ve not had the opportunity to observe life during the 1850′s, the Dundurn Castle tour is simply an amazing experience. That’s not only a history lesson (unlike being in high school all over again), but a fun time to spend with your family.
Though I’d like to include some of the historic aspects of Dundurn castle in this review, I feel you’ll walk away with much more when you take the actual tour. The guides are very knowledgeable and being in the actual castle will help you appreciate the history of it all, much better than I could put into words today.
The tour starts at the gift shop (left side when you walk through the entrance of the castle grounds) and this is where you purchase your tickets as well. The gift shop is filled with souvenirs and trinkets as other gift shops in such historic sites. The tour leaves every 30 minutes and can last anywhere between 45 minutes and one hour. * Yes, there’s free parking on the grounds as you come off York Boulevard.
The tour itself starts as you leave the gift shop with your group and tour guide (I would try to get into a group with about 7-10 people if possible, as I think you get much more out of the tour with a smaller group) and you work your way to the front of the castle. Here is where your tour guide will start sharing all the historic tidbits with the group. You then work your way into the castle via a small courtyard to the left side, where laundry must have been done back in the 1850′s. On entering the castle you get a feeling like when you were a kid and you went into a closet at your grandparents place, with the sort of “old” air smell. Kinda musty, but instantly you’re transformed back in time with a rich scent of history. The dark interior only adds to the mystique of it all and the creaky wooden floors reminds you that you’re in a very historic building.
You start off on the main floor, then work your way upstairs and finally the basement. On the way you tour some of the great rooms (you must see the master’s bedroom… they lived like royalty), the bedrooms, bathrooms, home office and library, sewing room… basically all the rooms that were part of daily life. Even the indoor toilet, and you’ll be amazed by the indoor plumbing that even had heated water throughout the castle. They even had gas lighting throughout the castle as well.
Then as you work your way into the basement, that once musty sort of smell is replaced with the pleasant scent of baking cookies and bread. You instantly get a sort of “homely” feel and quickly forget you’re in the basement of the building. It reminded me of Christmas eve when my mom would be making all those baked treats and our entire house would be adorned with that lovey scent of cookies, cakes and breads.
Here is where you see where the female servants slept, the laundry room where all the clothing and linen were washed on a weekly basis, the coal and firewood storage areas, the ice storage area where ice would be harvested from lake Ontario and stored for use into the summer months and the kitchen. Where that lovely smell was originating from. Though this was a basement, the ceilings were pretty high, there are huge windows that brought in natural light and the gas lighting I mentioned above was also in use here. At no time did you get that sort of dark and gloomy feel you’d expect from such a basement in an old building. The people who worked in this basement had it good as far as working conditions were concerned.. I would think.
As the tour ends in the kitchen and it’s explained that the food prepared here is done so using recipes from back in the 1850′s. It’s amazing how the strawberry drop cakes and bread have not changed during all this time. They’re just as tasty as any you’d find in any fancy bakery today.
Since I had arrived a bit early and had about 25 minutes to spare before the next scheduled tour began, I decided to tour the grounds of the property. And how glad I am that I did. I stumbled onto the Historic Garden and since I consider myself a avid Gardner, I love seeing how others garden. Though we had toured the castle before, it was during the colder months and I don’t think that garden was open then. Since the Historic Garden is part of the grounds at Dundurn Castle and is included in the price of admission, I highly recommend going through it if you visit during the Spring to Fall months. During the summer months the staff dress in period gear and use tools etc from the 1850′s so you’ll see how things were done in the garden during this grand era.
The vegetables grown in the garden goes directly to use in the kitchen (that’s where the strawberries came for the drop cookies) and I was told that any excess is donated to local charities like the Ronald Mc Donald House, Daily Food Bank and The Good Shepard Center, to name a few. The garden itself is 100% organic, so you know that the food grown here are free from all those chemicals etc that we should be avoiding.
Overall touring the Dundurn Castle is quite the experience and I must again recommend that you pack up the family in the mini-van and take in the experience. Pack a picnic and make it into a day trip, as the grounds of the castle is lovely and there are many shady trees where you can spread a blanket and enjoy some time with family and friends.
Location: 610 York Blvd. Hamilton, Ontario
Phone: 905-546-2872
Fax: 905-546-2875
Hours of Operation
June 30 to Labour Day: Daily: 10 am – 4 pm
Labour Day to June 29: Tuesday to Sunday: 12 – 4 pm
Note: Last tour starts at 4 pm (Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day)
Depending on availability, they will gladly open outside of regular hours for pre-booked groups.
Admission Rates
Adults (18-59) $10.00
Senior (60+) $8.00
Student * (13-17) $8.00
Child (6-12) $5.00
Infant (5 and under) Free
Family ** $25.00
* Student = 13-17 or with valid student ID
** Family = two adults and unlimited dependant children
Full-price ticket includes admission to Dundurn Castle, the Kitchen Garden and the Hamilton Military Museum.
* I’d like to say special thanks to the management and staff of the Dundurn Castle for making this review possible.
Dundurn Castle is an historic Neoclassical architecture chateau on York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) mansion took three years and $175,000.00 to build, and was completed in 1835. Sir Allan MacNab, later prime minister of the united Province of Canada between 1854 and 1856, hired architect Robert Wetherall and construction of this stately home was completed in 1835. It became the property of the City of Hamilton and, in the late 1960s, it was restored as a Centennial project. It is now designated as a National Historic Site.The seventy-two room castle featured the latest conveniences of gas lighting and running water.The rooms have been restored to the year 1855 when MacNab was at the height of his career. Costumed interpreters guide visitors through the home, illustrating daily life from the 1850s.
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