MacKenzie King Estate

The Mackenzie King Estate is the country property of Canada's longest serving prime minister. William Lyon Mackenzie King bought his first cottage here in 1903 and spent decades buying up neighbouring land and reshaping the grounds. He left it all to the country and now it sits in a corner of Gatineau Park. The ruins are the highlight of this sprawling property. King collected stone from buildings being torn down in Canada and overseas, including Canada's first Parliament Buildings and the British House of Commons, and had it rebuilt into arches and broken walls standing loose in the meadows. They sit in open grass, so you can walk right around them and work every side. Get low and shoot through an arch to frame the trees behind. Late light spreads across the stone and brings the texture up. Morning fog settles in these hills and softens the whole thing. Autumn is the best season with rich fall colours taking over the slopes behind the gardens, although its also the busiest season for hikers and tourists. Formal beds and lawns fill in through summer if you want something more ordered. The grounds are free and open all year. Parking is paid through summer and into autumn, and the cottages open as museums in the warm months only. (Chelsea, Quebec, Canada)