Hornby Island

For most of the year, Hornby’s population of about 1,000 full-time residents share the magical sandstone shorelines and forested parkland with eagles, sea lions, and seabirds. Rare packs of kayakers can be spotted offshore. A small but steady stream of visitors arrive with books, bikes, sketchpads and hiking boots. The unplug-the-phone serenity has inspired such creatives as the BC painter Jack Shadbolt, popular British novelist Sarah Dunant, and west coast poets Billy Little and Brian Brett.

Sheltered from the more dramatic meteorological extremes on Vancouver Island’s west coast, Hornby enjoys mild and largely dry weather in spring, summer, and fall. About 1,336mm/53in of rain falls annually according to the Hornby Island Groundwater Society – an organization that appreciates every last drop on an island faced with perennial water shortages.