A Perfect Day for a Walk by the Water

Bill Arnott’s guide to Vancouver’s shoreline is a delightful meander into stories of place hiding in plain sight. Arnott, a seasoned traveller and author, writes with a playful touch. At Spanish Banks Beach, he muses about Capt. George Vancouver’s reaction to realizing his Spanish counterparts had already mapped the areas he was tasked with “discovering” in 1792. “I can imagine Captain George letting out a long sigh, his silver medal turning to bronze,” writes Arnott. At the North Shore Spirit Trail, he waxes, well, spiritual. The trail’s “ghost-pockets of urban and Indigenous terrain … evokes the extra-sensory.” Arnott regales the reader with quirky stories as he tours such familiar places as Coal Harbour, Granville Island, Fisherman’s Wharf and False Creek. Locals may find in this guide a way to appreciate the history of their home in a fresh way, while visitors seeking an experience “off the beaten path” are likely to find it.