Holiday Monday walk

From my front door I can go either North or South and walk in a park at all times. The Rideau Canal which 214 Km long, provides in the heart of the City this great green park. It was built in 1832 and cost a fortune, it was to be used for military purposes but never was.

I went South today towards the renovated Lansdowne Park. A quiet leafy residential area of great houses which is part of the Glebe neighbourhood. The area is so quiet that you think that you are in the countryside and forget that you are in the middle of a City of 1 million people.

 Canadian Winter Olympic Monument at Lansdowne Park

This funny little island in the middle of the Canal is a protected area and I do not know why, it is simply a tuft of green surrounded by water. The other side of the Canal is called Old Ottawa South, it was the southern limit of the city until 1960. There was only fields beyond that point, the area is like a finger between the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, with lots of very nice houses built in the 1940's and 1950's.

The National Capital Commission is responsible to keep the area clean and plants the numerous flower beds. The flower beds are planted with tulips in April and then in June with more Summer flowers.

This small inlet was once part of the canal and now stands cut from it by a road. When the canal was built this inlet was a staging area for the engineers and workers.

 We are just North of Dow's Lake a former large swamp flooded by the Corps of Royal Engineers to make a lake below Hog's Back Falls. 

View from our apartment looking North towards the Campus of University of Ottawa.

 This area is still not finished the barricades will be removed and it is to become a skating rink in winter and a water plaza in summer. The lowest building in this photo in red brick is the renovated Horticultural building which was moved on rails from Bank street to the East Side of the park a distance of about 350 meters. The modern buildings are part of the shopping complex and the tower at the back is a new condo building, unfortunately a lot of this architecture is in a brutalist modern style.

The old Aberdeen Cattle Palace, c.1898 at Landsdowne Park, originally the park was on the outskirts of the City and was used as a horse race track and for agricultural fairs annually. Farmers from the Valley would come to Ottawa to exhibit all manner of farm products and animals. The Governor General would give out prizes. Later a Football Stadium was built, it was demolished 2 years ago and a new stadium built for football and for soccer. The Aberdeen Cattle Palace is now used for all kinds of events. The large green space in front is new, it was a parking lot until very recently. There is now only a very small parking lot underground for permit holders only. If you wish to come to the Stadium for a game you can walk or take the free shuttle buses. It is not possible to park your car anywhere. The New Lansdowne Park opens 16 August and the shopping retail area will open in November. I still want to visit the grounds once it is open to the public to have a good look around.