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Rappahannock’s farms welcome visitors

by | Sep 30, 2026

Calf and mom at High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill.
The Lancaster Family from Front Royal.
A covered carriage makes its way through the grounds of High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill during this weekend’s Farm Tour.
A girl reaches out to get the attention of a cow in the milking parlor at High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill.
Farm Tour executive director Laurie Smith (center) chatting on the porch of the Hoof ’n’ Feather Farm Store in Amissville, one of the newest additions to the Farm Tour.
A wicker horse displayed at the gates of High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill welcoming guests to the Rappahannock County Farm Tour this weekend.
Joneve Murphy fixes bottles of ink that were knocked over by Sunday’s strong winds.
Goats and chickens lounge Sunday afternoon at Chancellors Rock Farm in Flint Hill.
Kathryn Everett gives a presentation at Chancellors Rock Farm in Flint Hill about the history of the farm and its conservation and sustainability practices.
Joneve Murphy’s three-legged pup, Mary, poses in front of a hand-built drying hut at Blue Craft Farm outside Flint Hill.
Goats at Hoof ’n’ Feather Farm in Amissville.
Allison and Dale Furr manning their Fuzzyprints custom apparel booth outside of the Hoof ’n’ Feather Farm Store in Amissville.
Horses and sheep grazing at High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill.
The lemonade stand at High Meadow Manor.
A carriage ride passes through the grounds of High Meadow Manor Sunday.
Farm Tour brochures and shop local Piedmont Environmental Council local shopping guides in the farm store at Chancellors Rock Farm.
Steve Paull buys a print from Blue Craft Farm in Flint Hill.
Ben Lancaster from Front Royal learns how to milk a cow in the milking parlor at High Meadow Manor in Flint Hill as his parents and five siblings watch.
Indigo and eucalyptus drying in the drying hut at Blue Craft Farm.

Rappahannock County farmers opened their gates to visitors from across Virginia last weekend for the 17th annual Farm Tour. At 13 farms and gardens, guests got a closer look at life on the land, with stops offering everything from carriage rides to chances to pet goats.

“High Meadow Manor counted more than 750 visitors over the course of the weekend,” said organizer Laurie Smith. “Our two new venues, Hill House Native Plants and Hoof n’ Feather Farm saw incredible turnouts, too. 

“We are very grateful to our farms and venues for opening their doors and gates to the public, to our farm tour ambassadors who play a big part in enabling this event to happen [and] to the businesses who allow us to post our banners on their property,” Smith said.

Photos by Ireland Hayes

 

 

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.