An easy drive down historic Little River Turnpike leads to a finely restored mill, gourmet provisioning for a scenic hike, and Doc's for barbecue, dollar-a-beer, and pie.
For an any-season city escape from the conventional tourist hotel and crush, drive less than an hour west of Washington, D.C. on Northern Virginia's Little River Turnpike through the towns and villages of Virginia Hunt Country to really see America.
The road on which you're driving, Little River Turnpike, is itself of historical interest. First a game run, then an Indian trail, then a wagon road (18th century tolls pulled in 6 cents for an ox, 12 cents for a wagon, but geese, you'll be happy to know, were free). It saw Civil War action up and down its length, and runs from the harbors and history of Alexandria on the Potomac River, 25 miles to the newly and handsomely restored Aldie Mill on Little River Creek in the graceful, horsey vineyards of the Blue Ridge foothills.
Aldie, Virginia: Bed, Breakfast, and Wine
Stop at Aldie's historic mill its new restoration funded by a mysterious, anonymous benefactor, is open Saturday 12-5 and Sun 1-5 4$ for a educational and surprisingly entertaining tour of the ingenious marvel of craftsmanship and architecture that are early 19th century flour mills. Powered by the Little River Creek, it is one of many mills along Little River Turnpike, most others are in ruins for want of mysterious benefactors.
The village of Aldie grew up around this prosperous mill. Farmers, even President James Monroe, in humbler times, hauled wheat and corn from the gorgeous and fertile Shenandoah Valley. The flour was then carried east to the ports of Alexandria, and west in an arduous treck over the Blue Ridge to pioneering homesteads beyond.
Go to Washington, Stay in Virginia, See America
Aldie, still quaint but increasingly prosperous, is a village of wrought iron gates and gingerbread and clematis over the porch swings. The number of antique shop is burgeoning and the road side is littered with giant marble urns and Corinthian columns lying in the grass. Have a piece of hot apple pie at the The Little Apple Café and Carry Out, or peruse the bait and tackle, while waiting for barbequed pork, beef, or chicken from the smoking barrel out front of the Aldie Country Store.
Aldie is half-way between the thronged historic sights and bustle of Washington and Alexandria, and the worlds-away tranquility of the Blue Ridge: a perfect jumping off point for both. There are two bed and breakfasts in Aldie: The Briar Patch Bed and Breakfast and Dover Mill Inn. Just west, the Chrysalis Vineyard and Swedenberg Estate Vineyard and within afternoon-stroll distance among stone walls and undulating meadows.
Of course, the stone walls and rolling meadows call out to be rambled through. Provision for a hike in Middleburg. The village is adamantly charming: brick and brass, historic, monied, haughty and horsey, as handsome as a well-worn riding boot. There is almost nowhere to get a coffee really early in the morning, which is probably a sign of its good breeding. Cuppa Giddy Up Coffee and Bagel, however, is open from 8 AM to 5 PM in the basement under an brick arch on Main Street.
Right of Public Access? Not Here
One possible fault in its gracious civility is that one can't simply vault a stone wall and set off jauntily over private land. There is no 'Public Access' in the US. What there is, though, is vast stretches of public and park land whose stone walls can be vaulted and well-marked and mapped paths set off on jauntily. So, continue west from Middleburg to the gentle swells of the old Blue Ridge Mountains. Sky Meadow State Park offers easy to rigorous ramblings, bird watching (red headed wood-peckers winter here), as well as Civil War reenactments and tour of the historic home Bleak House.
