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Loudoun County Horses and foxhunting are the chief draws in this area. Unless you have local connections or book with knowledgeable (and well located) innkeepers, you’re not likely to see – let alone participate in – a foxhunt, which is a private affair for members and invited (paying) guests. But you may hear or catch a glimpse of one of the area’s dozen hunts in pursuit of their quarry, generally three days a week from September to March. You’re more apt to catch the equine flavor at one of the horse shows, polo matches or the point-to-point or steeplechase events, usually scheduled for weekends in spring and fall. And you can bone up on the sport at the National Sporting Library, a dramatic building on the outskirts of Middleburg, claiming one of the world’s largest collections of books on turf and field sports. Quaint Hamlets and Scenic Drives. From uppercrust and horsey Upperville to antiquey Millbrook to the German enclave of Lovettsville, quaint hamlets abound. Perhaps the quaintest is Waterford (see Extra-Special). To best appreciate the area, shun the main highways and get off the beaten path, which is done easily only if you have a good county road map. Having toured most of the area, we’re partial to Routes 662 and 665 out of Waterford, Route 734 (the Snickersville Turnpike) from Aldie to Bluemont, Route 709 (the Zulla Road past huge horse estates south of Middleburg), Route 626 (the Halfway Road) south of Middleburg, and particularly Route 626 (the Pot House Road) north of Middleburg past the Glenwood Racetrack, through forested hill and dale to the fabled and surprisingly remote Foxcroft School for young ladies. Morven Park, 17263 Southern Planter Road, Leesburg. Turkey buzzards haunt the fences and two black lion sculptures guard the pillared portico of Morven Park, the stately home of Virginia reform governor Westmoreland Davis, whose widow gave the entire 1,500-acre estate in trust to the public in his memory. The Greek Revival mansion, left as it was and decorated to the hilt in a Renaissance theme, is truly a museum. Four Brabant tapestries – said to be in better condition than those in the Vatican – hang in the front foyer, vying for attention with graceful cherubs over the doorway. Those into showy European decor will enjoy the guided, hour-long tour of the mansion’s sixteen restored rooms, rich with Tiffany silver in the formal Jacobean dining room, Hudson River School paintings in the informal dining room, and a Hapsbourg crown mirror in the ladies’ drawing room. Those into foxhunting will enjoy the twenty-minute film and the memorabilia in the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, which occupies the north wing of the mansion (the fabulously wealthy Governor Davis was master of the Loudoun Hunt). Others like the Carriage Museum, built around the 100-vehicle collection donated by a Warrenton horsewoman and on rotating display in the old coach house. It includes everything from a charcoal-burning fire pumper and a ladies’ phaeton to surreys and a funeral hearse. The magnificent grounds are known for rare specimen trees, including the oldest small-leaf linden on the East Coast, and the Marguerite Davis Boxwood Gardens. The Morven Park Steeplechase Races are held here in mid-October. Nearby is the Morven Park Equestrian Center. (703) 777-2414. www.morvenpark.org. Open
April-November, tours hourly Friday-Monday noon to 4; other days by
appointment. Adults, $7. Oatlands, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. The 1813 plantation house built by a descendant of Virginia’s famed Robert “King” Carter is better known and has a higher profile than Morven Park, thanks to its operation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was purchased in 1903 by William Corcoran Eustis (of the Washington banking and Corcoran Gallery family), and Mrs. Eustis used it as her English-style country house during the summer and foxhunting seasons until her death in 1964. Their daughters, who live nearby at Little Oatlands and Oatlands Hamlet, left the house and the 261-acre estate to the National Trust. Unlike Morven Park, this is a livable house rather than a museum, and visitors feel as if “the family has just stepped out for a spell,” in the words of our tour guide. You’ll see George Washington’s dessert service displayed in the formal dining room and William Eustis’s foxhunting garb in his dressing room. Four acres of formal, terraced gardens are open to visitors, as is the carriage house visitor center and gift shop. (703) 777-3174. www.oatlands.org. Open
April-December, Monday-Saturday 10 to 5, Sunday 1 to 5. Adults, $8. Tarara Vineyard & Winery, 13648 Tarara Lane, Leesburg. The centerpiece of this 475-acre vineyard and orchard is the 6,000-square-foot winery and wine cave blasted out of a rocky cliff 30 feet deep, beneath owners Margaret and Whitie Hubert’s showplace of a house. The spacious tasting and sales rooms are full of interesting touches, among them the acrylic jewelry and baskets of artist-daughter Karen Hubert of Alexandria and the mixed-media artworks of daughter Martha Hubert, whose designs adorn the winery labels. Tarara sells its fruits to the public (we sampled a couple of delicious blackberries prior to the official pick-your-own weekend following our visit) and sponsors special events from wine dinners to grapevine decorating workshops to pig roasts to picnics to pony rides – all designed to bring people to the winery. Its barrel-fermented chardonnay ($17.99) and reserve cabernet ($19.99) are highly rated, but we and others are partial to the unique non-vintage charval ($11.99), a sprightly blend of chardonnay and seyval blanc. Tarara plans to triple the winery’s output. Look for it to become one of the largest in Virginia. (703) 771-7100. www.tarara.com. Open daily, 11 to
5. Piedmont Vineyards & Winery, 2546-D Halfway Road Route 626, Middleburg. Virginia’s first commercial vinifera vineyard was established by Mrs. Thomas Furness in 1973 on 37 acres of a pre-Revolutionary farm called Waverly. Her daughter, Elizabeth Worrall, has made a name among connoisseurs for the boutique winery, producing 5,500 cases a year of some of the best white wines in Virginia. The small flagstone-floored tasting room, quite appealing with wicker furniture, is rather like a Southern veranda, and the picnic grounds among the trees beside a pond are enchanting. (540) 687-5528. www.piedmontwines.com. Open
daily, 11 to 5. Breaux Vineyards, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Hillsboro. One of the fastest-growing among new Virginia wineries, this started with a three-acre vineyard that Alexis and Paul Breaux inherited when they purchased the property in 1994. Winner of more than 120 awards since its official debut in 1998, it now has 65 acres of hillside vineyards planted in ten grape varieties and a Mediterranean-style production facility on a 400-acre estate. Winemaker David Collins’s award-winning 2001 Madeleine’s chardonnay ($18) was the first to be vinted from new vines imported from Dijon. Fresh breads, cheeses, pâtés and spreads are available beside the stone fireplace in the recently expanded tasting room or on the outdoor Patio Madeleine, named for the owners’ daughter. Frequent special events draw the throngs. (540) 668-6299 or (800) 492-9961.
www.breauxvineyards.com. Open daily, 11 to 6 May-October, to 5 rest of
year. Loudoun claims to be the birthplace of the Virginia wine industry, now the fourth largest in the United States. Other wineries in the area include the Swedenburg Estate Vineyard east of Middleburg, the scenic Willowcroft Farm Vineyards perched alongside Mount Gilead (which offers panoramic Loudoun County views) southeast of Leesburg, Hidden Brook Winery with early American-style log winery opened in 2002 north of Leesburg and the Loudoun Valley Vineyards in Waterford, a state-of-the-art winery with spectacular views and some great-sounding winemaker dinners. Hiking and Bicycling. The Chesapeake & Ohio and Washington & Old Dominion trails are ten-foot-wide pathways much used by joggers, bikers, walkers and horseback riders. The towpath in the C&O Canal National Historical Park is part of a trail system stretching from Cumberland, Md., along the Potomac River to Georgetown. The blacktop path of the former W&OD Railroad runs from Purcellville, just west of Leesburg, to Alexandria. Together they attract more than one million users annually. Shopping. Leesburg is the commercial hub of Loudoun County, although most of its major and basic businesses have moved to strip plazas south and east of town. The Old Town downtown section has attracted antique dealers, some of whom show at the Leesburg Downtown Antiques Center at 27 South King St. and the Leesburg Antique Gallery of Shoppes in an old church at 7 Wirt St. Also of interest are Leesburg Vintner, which serves up great deli sandwiches along with wines and beverages; the Kitchen Shop, and Yesterday’s Memories (with a native American and New Age theme). The feline-lover among us had a field day at Classy Cat Gifts, while the other checked out the Civil War titles at Clio’s History Bookshop. Stores seem to come and go in Leesburg’s restored Market Station at the edge of downtown. Tiny Middleburg is of more
appeal to visiting shoppers. Its quaint, tree-lined downtown is
chock-a-block full of stylish stores, many with an equine theme, and we
were struck by the showy potted hibiscus trees placed on the four
corners at Washington and Madison streets. Established in 1956, The
Fun Shop with the curious name is a mini-department store in a
warren of rooms, stocking everything from table linens and clothing to
toys, books, lamp shades and notions (it even offers a toll-free 800
phone number for customers from afar). Also quite big and au courant is Gourmet
Kitchen Plus, a dream store for those interested in culinary
matters. The Irish Crystal Company is the first store in Virginia
to carry the fine Tyrone Crystal and, unlike most shops of its ilk, the
owner urges visitors to touch the merchandise. The Finicky Filly
offers wonderful women’s wear; it’s the female counterpart to
venerable horseman Tully Rector’s men’s store. He also offers a
“painting of your horse” as one of the services of The Shaggy
Ram, specialist in country antiques, hunt items and English imports.
Crème de la Crème features Provençal table settings, and Skandina
stocks Swedish antiques and accessories. Fine English and French garden
antiques and accessories are the hallmark of Devonshire. A
Little Something from Middleburg offers home furnishings and
accessories. English and European garden antiques and furniture are
offered at Wickets Garden Style. Equestrian books are a special
feature of The Book Chase. Pick up a croissant or a sandwich at The
Upper Crust, an excellent bakery. Extra-Special Waterford. Every state should have a Waterford, but precious few do. Reminiscent of the British Cotswolds, this treasured community of a few hundred souls is no longer an endangered species, having been saved by the Waterford Foundation, established in 1948. The must-see town, settled by Quakers in 1733, is one of the few communities totally encompassed on the National Register of Historic Places. Waterford’s Quakers and thriving free black community supported the Union in the Civil War, when it was harassed both by Union forces because of its location and by Confederate forces because of its beliefs. Today, Waterford’s buildings and rolling fields, wedged into a fold between hills, look much as they did a century ago. As you drive through on High Street (Route 662 northwest of Leesburg), don’t make the mistake of thinking the town consists only of a few nice houses, the Catoctin Presbyterian and Waterford Baptist churches and the red-brick Loudoun Mutual Insurance Co. Instead, head west down one of the side streets to Second and Main streets. Here you’ll find a remarkable variety of log, stone and brick houses, the Peaceable Kingdom gift shop, the Waterford Forge, the mapmaker-historian and who knows what all. On a weekday you’re likely to have the place to yourself. But come the first weekend of October, thousands are drawn here for the Waterford Foundation’s annual house tour and crafts exhibit, one of the nation’s best juried shows. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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