"And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow..."

Unlike Yeats's cabin at the Isle of Innisfree, ours on South Pender Island (Canadian west coast) is made not of clay and wattles but rather of western Canadian cedar: the exterior walls, the indoor paneling, and the wraparound deck, all cedar. And when you relax on the deck you'll be looking too at cedars, several magnificent specimens of which grace our property. You may in addition hear the calls of bald eagles and ravens, though you're unlikely to hear any humans, because our nearest neighbours (nice as they are) are far out of sight or hearing. Our cabin, though close to a very quiet dead-end road, is surrounded by a leafy glade: no manicured lawns, just nature taking its course.

The 1,200-square-foot cabin has two bedrooms and a sleeping loft, a well-equipped kitchen that overlooks the living room, a bathroom with an old-fashioned clawfoot bathtub, and an abundance of skylights. It's rustic in the sense that it has evolved over decades from a one-room cabin into something much more spacious, and is rumoured (by visiting artists) to harbour welcoming muses.

Take a five-minute walk down to the ocean and you'll come to a quiet, south-facing pebble beach. The beach in turn will take you to picturesque Brooks Point park, home of thousands of chocolate lilies and a few ancient Douglas-firs (where nest the eagles), and from there you can follow a variety of trails back home. A walking loop that includes the park takes about 40 minutes. Or you can cross the road from the cabin into a section of Gulf Islands National Park and hike up to bluffs with magnificent ocean views.

The southernmost of the Canadian Gulf Islands, South Pender Island overlooks the American San Juan islands on the far side of Haro Strait, through which runs the international border. South Pender has about 300 residents and only one commercial establishment: Poets Cove resort, with its restaurant, pub, spa, pool, wine shop and kayak rentals, a half hour walk from our cabin.

South Pender Island connects by a one-lane bridge to the much larger North Pender Island, which provides all of the essential services you might want for a quiet island retreat: a shopping mall, restaurants, farmers' market, nine-hole golf course and tennis courts, and numerous roadside farm stands where you pay by the "honour system".

Daily ferries run from North Pender to Victoria, Vancouver and other Gulf Islands. There is also summertime seaplane service from Poets Cove Resort, a five-minute drive from the cabin.

Our house in Victoria (separate listing) is available for exchange separately or together with the Pender cottage.