Sunday, November 22, 2009

Why is it called Seven Hills?

Why is it called Seven Hills?

A great thread on the history and folklore of the little neighbourhood we live in.

Seven Hills refers to the stretch of Miller Road between the United Church and the Legion. It's sort of a fill in between Deep Bay on one end and Miller's Landing and Scarborough on the other. If you have only ever driven on our road it will be familiar to you as "one hill" probably, but there are several little rises that get us to the top, which are very noticable when you walk or bike. As Murray Atherton says in this thread, the road has been evened out over the years, so the bumps aren't as noticeable but you can still see them.

My kids and I had a little song we sang when they were young as we walked up the hills. Goes like this:

CHORUS:
We're climbing up Seven Hills
Hup hup, hup hup
Climbing up Seven Hills
hup hup home.

VERSE
First we go past Collins Hall
Hup hup, hup hup
First we go past Collins Hall
hup hup home.

Subsequent verses are sung as you reach various landmarks. Some include:

Wave hello to our friend Michel... (who is always out working on his house)
Crossing over Collins Creek...
We rise again at the B and B... (Seven Hills B&B owned by Horst and Ann Mann)
Take a rest at old Wayside.. (a cottage without power, and at the first hill)
Past the trail down to the beach...
Only two more power poles...
Beaner and Tango bark at us... (sweet dogs that lived two doors down)
We climbed up Seven Hills!

Often we improvised if we needed a verse and a friend drove by in their car or the ferry sounded down in the Cove. Sometimes we would incorporate things that had fallen on the ground like fir boughs, leaves or snow. At any rate, the song got me and two little kids up that hill for years, and I still hum it to myself once in a while.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing that....
    I am a Jersey girl who stays at Seven hills B&B
    and trekked Miller Rd. Love it!

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  2. My wife and I keep debating moving to Bowen Island (we live in Vancouver now). Nice to get a bit of an insider perspective! Will continue to read along.

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