Entering the fourth and final week of our Richmond adventures, I was starting to get stumped for ideas for places to visit. We had already seen so much that when we went to visitor’s centers and looked at the brochures, all we could say was, “Seen that . . . . seen that . . . seen that too . . . .” We had to start stretching a bit more.
On Day 16, we headed to Ashland, Virginia, perhaps the most northern part of the Richmond area. Ashland is a charming small town characterized by the train tracks that literally run right down the center of main street. We went first to the train station office in the center of town to pick up the free DIY walking tour brochure.
Most of the buildings on the walking tour aren’t open for touring inside per se but the tour winds you through some interesting streets and past historic buildings. That, punctuated by the occasional train crossing, makes for an interesting visit.
I don’t have a huge amount to say about any of these places so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
The walking tour started us on the campus of Randolph Macon College. This building was constructed in 1872.Rear view of Washington & Franklin Hall.Spire of the Old Chapel on Randolph Macon College grounds. The “quilted” rooftop trend continues and the decorative roof fence is a nice touch.My son loved to practice his number recognition on the donor walkway.Pace-Armistead Hall constructed in 1876.Blue sky porch roof on a historic home.Front porch of the Henry Clay Inn.Town HallCaboose parked outside the Ashland Museum.
This coffee house looked very inviting.
Ashland has a terrific artistic, eclectic vibe–evidenced by this sign on the toy train shop near the tracks.
The Hanover Arts & Activities Center.As I was taking the picture above, a woman came walking out of the building and offered to let me peek inside. A children’s performance group had just finished a production of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
This was a clever color scheme.This sculpture of a local newspaper owner sits outside the public library. A kind mom agreed to take our picture with it.An inviting display in the local consignment store.Ashland’s 101 year old grocery store!Peeking inside the grocery store window.Ashland is little boy heaven. These huge trains running by all the time are the best!Bidding farewell to Ashland. We had a wonderful time!
