eh Interview: Dunroven B&B – Farm & Forge.

“Guests have complete peace and quiet…..we get many photographers and bird watchers all year round as there is abundant wildlife and sea life to photograph. We have had several guests like Malcolm Island so much, they have ended up buying a place and moving here.” Dan and Lauren Klingbiel

Dan and Lauren Klingbiel

Dan and Lauren Klingbiel are the owners and operators of Dunroven B&B – Sea Cottage – Farm & Forge located in Sointula on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada.

Recently… we had the opportunity to chat with Dan and Lauren Klingbiel from our swanky imaginary online studio located in Somewhere, Canada.

Plan your next visit to Sointula on Malcolm Island in BC, Canada with ehCanadaTravel.com at : http://www.vancouverislandaccommodations.com/sointula/

Stay with Dunroven B&B Farm & Forge :http://www.recn.ca/oxdoc/index.html

The “eh Team” have had the pleasure to explore and stay with Dunroven B&B – Sea Cottage – Farm & Forge. It was one of the most unique experiences we have had staying with a B&B in Canada. We forged, we hiked, we met Oxen, we took photos and we enjoyed our conversations with Dan and Lauren Klingbiel.

To this day we have a coat hanger we use made from their forge at Dunroven Farm & Forge.

The “Friends of Tourism” program is an interview process conducted by eh Canada Travel & Adventure (ehCanadaTravel.com) which introduces you – the reader, friend, follower, traveler – to some of the talented and, generally, good people of Canada we have had the pleasure of working with including non-profits, artists, photographers, gear companies, sponsors, travel bloggers and our supporting tourism advertisers.

In the interview, Dan and Lauren Klingbiel share with us their love for Sointula, tourism and stories about the people who stay with them.

So come a join us as we meet and greet with Dunroven B&B – Sea Cottage – Farm & Forge.

1. Who are you, what do you do and where are you from? We are Dan and Lauren Klingbiel of Dunroven B&B – Sea Cottage – Farm & Forge. We visited Malcolm Island over 25 years ago, searching for our perfect place to live. When Dan took early   retirement we bought our 10 acres on Donegal Head, built our home and have never regretted it once. We were both school teachers and loved not only the beauty of Malcolm Island and the wildlife but also the beauty of the people we now know as neighbours.

(eh Canada Travel) From our experience you both seem very happy and content with your beautiful home. We can see why others enjoy your accommodation and company.

Dunroven B&B – Sea Cottage – Farm & Forge

2. Favourite thing about living in Sointula on Malcolm Island? We love the feeling of a close community ~ like going back in time 40 years ago as many guests have observed. I mean this in a very positive way……..if someone needs help, you help them and they help you. Your word is your bond. We love the abundance of wildlife and the pristine forest and the ocean surrounding our accommodation. It is so wonderful hearing the Humpback Whales several months in the summer. I can walk down to our beachfront and see them up close without bothering them.

(eh Canada Travel) We agree that wildlife sightings can be very therapeutic.

3. Tell us why Dunroven B&B Farm & Forge is unique? We greet our guests with a plate of homemade cookies, then we see what it is they want to do ~ some guests just want to sit and relax and go for hikes on our beach….maybe see the petroglyphs……for those who stay 2 or more nights,  we offer the opportunity of learning about blacksmithing and actually working in our old timey coal-fired forge where they make a gift to take home.  Also offered is the chance to learn about and do some ground work with our Percheron draft horse.  Our guests can go through our Carriage House and see the freight wagon our oxen pulled and some of the hand crafted items made in our forge are for sale.

Lands End Road comes in behind our 10 acres so guests have complete peace and quiet…..we get many photographers and bird watchers all year round as there is abundant wildlife and sea life to photograph. We have had several guests like Malcolm Island so much, they have ended up buying a place and moving here.

(eh Canada Travel) Mmmm cookies. We still can taste them. And we thank you for the opportunity to work with Dan in the forge learning a trade which played a big part in the past history of Canada.

4. Share with us a proud moment of Dunroven B&B? One of the greatest outcomes of meeting new people who visit here was to host some people from the Canadian Forces. We ended up becoming part of their extended family and even though they are now out of the military and living in Edmonton, they come visit their “Auxiliary Mom and Dad” here at Dunroven twice a year.

(eh Canada Travel) It is easy to see how they would refer to you both as loving parents.

5. What is your funniest  tourism moment? We have had many funny moments here (some of those would be best told in person)  but the best one would have to be when we travelled to the east coast by train one year…..we met many interesting people………a couple of years later we had guests check in and I kept thinking we had seen them before….it turned out, we had met them on Via Rail on our trip and they had decided they wanted to visit our place as it sounded so interesting……we had a team of oxen then, Each one weighed 3,500 pounds and we also let guests work with them if they wanted to.

(eh Canada Travel) It is a small world. It is moments like this which become special memories.

Dan and the Forge

6. How did you get into blacksmithing? Dan taught metal shop at the high school level for many years…when we moved to British Columbia, we visited Fort Langley and we saw a demonstration by a lady blacksmith ~ she inspired him to build our forge……we later expanded it to have a 1928 25 pound power hammer for larger projects.

(eh Canada Travel) We enjoyed our time in your forge and every time we hang a coat on our coat hanger from your forge we think of you.

7. What brings you joy during the winter and summer seasons and why? Our winter still brings guests but fewer than in the summer ~  the garden is through and we have more time for dinner exchanges with our neighbours to catch up on the latest goings on.  We have our egg deliveries winter and summer so that stays the same………..Spring brings chicks to raise for the year……..The summer brings more sea life to watch ~ the huge pods of dolphins, the eagles, and of course, the Humpback Whales. Something is always going on here, so life has never been boring.

(eh Canada Travel) Seasons join Canada provide us all with so many joys.

8. What should travelers visit when exploring Sointula? We suggest visiting the museum and if they are into hiking – taking the 2 recommended walks (one shorter and the other longer) and walking the many beaches. Visiting the cemetery appeals to many of the guests so to get a first hand sense of who lived here. They see the graves marked with personal touches ~ a ships wheel on one, beautiful hand carved wooden crosses on others, maybe a solar lantern. The island has had numerous requests from people who don’t live here to be buried in the cemetery as it allows these personal touches.

(eh Canada Travel) The viking history is so apparent on your island.

9. Where would you like to visit in Canada and why? We have travelled by Via Rail to see most of Canada and loved Ross Farm in Nova Scotia and the Acadian Village in Caraquet, New Brunswick and loved both places as they too offered “Hands on History” to their visitors.

10. Please give us some insight on what, you see, as the biggest mistake travelers do? We meet many tourists and travellers ~ Many people want to stay longer and do not plan for long enough stays. Good news is that some travellers usually do end up coming back several times and some eventually move here to enjoy the slower pace of life.

(eh Canada Travel) We too would like to arrange a return visit some time in the future. Thank you for sharing your story with us and our followers, travelers and friends.

Plan your next visit to Sointula on Malcolm Island in BC, Canada with ehCanadaTravel.com at : http://www.vancouverislandaccommodations.com/sointula/

Stay with Dunroven B&B Farm & Forge :http://www.recn.ca/oxdoc/index.html

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ehCanadaTravel.com

ehCanadaTravel.com (eh Canada Travel & Adventure) is the largest booking, planning and researching tourism and travel website for Western and Northern Canada currently expanding into Eastern and Atlantic Canada. The EH Team Brothers (Co Founders) also author the eh Canada Travel Blog which was recently awarded “A Top Canadian Blogger” by FlightNetwork.com.

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