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New Hope/ By Nancy and Richard Woodworth When William Penn came upon Bucks County back in 1682, it so reminded him of Great Britain that he named it after Buckingham, the shire in which he was born. The resemblance still is clear: A rolling countryside dropping down to the wide Delaware River, just as England’s does along the Thames River west of London. Crossroads pubs, stone houses and quaint hamlets that would look at home in the Cotswolds. Narrow, winding roads eliciting rural discoveries at every turn. Even the place names are similar: Solebury, Warminster, Chalfont, Wycombe. Such is the influence of the area’s English Quaker settlers. Although the area straddling the Delaware River became a stagecoach stop on the old York turnpike linking New York and Philadelphia, it retained its rural heritage and, to this day, remains a surprisingly unspoiled refuge amid the sprawling megalopolis. There's a welcome sense of isolation and romance especially along the River Road, a narrow and winding route along the Pennsylvania river bank that thwarts fast-moving vehicular traffic and invites visitors to take to their feet. The tranquil, idyllic setting of river and hills attracted a colony of painters known as the New Hope Artists early in the 20th century. Since then it has lured countless visitors, most of them to New Hope, a chic but quaint town whose mystique far exceeds its size (about 1,500 residents). Lately, the New Jersey river towns of Lambertville, Frenchtown and Milford have attracted tourists as well. The arts colony, antiquing and the Bucks County Playhouse are prime attractions. So are several concentrations of small inns and uncommonly good restaurants. In the midst of this varied milieu is the Delaware River, narrow and deserted as it cuts beneath hillsides and cliffs of strange-colored layers of rock at Upper Black Eddy, majestic and lazing at New Hope and Lambertville, mysterious and historic at Washington Crossing. Towpaths and canals flank the river on both sides, and islands occasionally part the river in the middle. River Road (Pennsylvania Route 32) undulates along the west bank through sharp turns, the odd hamlet and past hillsides strewn with rhododendron a slow 30 miles from Washington Crossing north to Upper Black Eddy. On the east bank, New Jersey’s Route 29 speeds motorists along the same distance through utterly rural terrain interrupted by an occasional town. The river, the canals and the towpaths lure people for all kinds of rest and recreation – canoeing, rafting, fishing and swimming in the water; bicycling, jogging, strolling and dining alongside. Here's a perfect place for a getaway, especially for anyone with an iota of British blood in his body and a bit of romance in his heart. Material excerpted from Getaways for Gourmets in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth, copyright 2006, and from Waterside Escapes in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth, copyright 2005. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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