Gairloch Gardens

Good old Gairloch Gardens. When I was a young Oakvillian, I spent quite a bit of time there. The double-​whammy of botanical beauty and tranquillity make it an excellent spot for a date — though I have witnesseth[1] a few breakups here too.
The history of this spot is pretty interesting. In 1922, Col. Gordon William MacKendrick — a veteran of WWI, who built roads on the Western front — purchased just over 11 acres of farmland in the south of Oakville. MacKendrick had a Tudor-​style home built there and had the entire property landscaped with hedges, trees and rose gardens. He also prophesied Armageddon would occur between 1922−1936[2]. Take a look at the dedication page of same:
After MacKendrick’s death in 1960, a young investment banker named John Gairdner purchased the land and renamed it Gairloch Gardens. Upon Gairdner’s death the land and estate were bequeathed to the Town of Oakville and the house became the Gairloch Gallery (now known as Oakville Galleries) and the land a public park and garden. It’s certainly not that sizable, but it’s pretty, and the grounds border the lake. Go visit if you want to feed the geese, sniff the blooming roses with a loved one, or quietly end a relationship hoping he/​she won’t create a scene.
Obligatory Title Pun: Neither GAIR-​ish nor LOCH-​lustre.
Menu Readability: I don’t think their website has been updated in a decade.
Need to mention: There is parking out front, and some really cool sculptures here. Take a closer look at the log.
What this place teaches me about myself: I’m more of an indoor breakup kind of guy.
_​_​_​_​_​
[1] Just witnessed. I prefer to end things at Tim Hortons.
[2] The Destiny of Britain and America, with an Appendix: What of the Japanese? G.W. MacKendrick, 1920