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dine in style and call it a holiday. Others are seeking a busier getaway, and the island delivers plenty of options. Hiking , kayaking , artists and art galleries , spas and the performing arts are all popular ways to wile away the hours here. Beaches and Swimming The warmest ocean tides off Salt Spring lap gently in the shallow, kelp-strewn waters of Vesuvius Bay. The rocky and ridged ocean floor is uncomfortable, so bring slip-ons. Drummond Park, across from the Fulford Inn on the island's southend, is a good spot to launch a kayak or watch the resident swans. Perhaps the best wave-pounded, soft-on-the-toes getaway is tiny Beddis Beach, which fronts onto Ganges Harbour at the far end of Beddis Beach Road about 15 minutes southeast of town. Cycling The Heritage of Salt Spring , a map sold at local bookstores and the Visitor Centre , includes 10 detailed cycling routes complete with distance and duration. Shopping Downtown Ganges' Market in the Park (Saturdays, late March/early April to October) allows one to browse locally made crafts, artwork and food goodies from local specialty food producers . The town itself is home to most island retailers. Among them are West of the Moon (a toy shop), Saltspring Soapworks (bath bombs and artisanal soaps), Harlans (the sweetaholics choice with its fresh chocs and fudge), and the Old Salty (a gift shop with an excellent collection of Salt Spring greeting cards). In addition to standard currency, many local shops, restaurants and services accept Salt Spring Dollars, the island's own paper currency first issued in 2002. Book Browsing Islands in the Salish Sea ). Volume II has been joined by three other first-rate book dealers in town. Grace Point Square's two-storey Sabine's Fine Used & Rare Books has an old-world feel, many nooks and crannies filled with interesting reads, and an exhibition space dedicated to island resident Nick Bantock (famous for his Griffin and Sabine books). Gardening To satisfy the many green thumbs on the island, a handful of garden centres sell flowers and plants indigenous to the Pacific northwest. Fraser's Thimble Farms near Southey Point at the island's northend (175 Arbutus Road) specializes in rare orchids and ferns amidst its 3 acres/1.2 hectares of nursery stock. Sacred Mountain Lavender (401 Musgrave Road), five-minutes' drive from Fulford Harbour, is known for the 60 varieties of fragrant purple lavender that bloom from June to September. A farm store selling spa products, culinary items and essential oils is open four days per week from May to September.
Golf Birdwatching The sighting list here includes woodpeckers, hawks, owls, grouse, quail, cormorants, grebes, guillemots, cedar waxwings, killdeer and the ubiquitous robin, whose trilling song tunefully serenades the day's end. The Great Blue Heron is also seen along shorelines and in estuaries, but the once populous McFadden Creek Heronry (at the end of North Beach Road past Fernwood) has been decimated in recent years by eagles. One B&B that caters specifically to birders: Salt Spring Cottage (140 Head Street), a 28 acre/11.3 hectare sanctuary off Walker Hook Road north of Ganges.