Athlone Farm is directly off Hwy 151, a designated Virginia scenic highway. You are renting the entire house. Classic and beautiful. Sleeps up to 18. Two kitchens and conveniently located to breweries, vineyards, hiking trails, Crabtree Falls, the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail, area Colleges and Universities and more.
NOTE: You can also rent Athlone’s historic 800-square foot cottage. The Cottage sleeps up to 4 people. Go here for details: https://www.vrbo.com/3351548
ATHLONE’S STORY:
Athlone’s lands first became a working Virginia farm sometime between 1751 and 1815. The Athlone Farm Homestead, together with its spacious home and 10 historic outbuildings and farm structures, sits on 31 acres of the estate and reflects the lifestyles and activities of Virginia’s farmstead developments during the second half of the 19th century.
ATHLONE’S HOME:
Athlone’s original 6500 square-foot home was constructed in two separate wings, the West wing circa 1815, and the East wing circa 1856. In 1996, the home was lost to fire, but was reconstructed by the family a year later exactly one foot off its original foundation.
Athlone’s home is fashioned in two distinct, fully equipped living quarters, East and West wings. The two wings combined can sleep up to 18 people. The home is beautiful, comfortable, roomy, well furnished, and perfect for families, retreats, reunions, and conferences.
Each wing features fully equipped eat in kitchens, well-appointed bathrooms and bedrooms, delightful living/family rooms, streaming TVs, wireless internet, and direct access onto the expansive back porch.
The larger East wing also features a formal parlor, a sunroom, a third-floor entertainment room, a tranquil library, a formal dining room (table seats up to 10), and ADA compliant accommodations and access.
There is ample paved parking and self-check-in. We offer excellent amenities to all guests.
ATHLONE’S GROUNDS:
Athlone’s setting is rural, peaceful, and quiet, but also extremely well located to take advantage of numerous area activities—hiking and biking trails, local breweries and wineries, restaurants, historic sites, and area colleges and universities. (See below for details.)
The 420-square foot porch sits at the rear of the home. For early risers, there is nothing more peaceful than sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee, watching the sun come up in the East, while the cows graze in the pasture.
The porch is beautifully outfitted for dining and with rocking chairs to take full advantage of wonderful views of the property and for easy grilling off the kitchens.
The family’s striking brick and iron memorial garden also offers shared patio visits and a gas firepit for late night story telling.
Athlone’s grounds are perfectly suited for provided outdoor games, including croquet, cornhole, and badminton.
ATHLONE’S HISTORIC OUTBUILDINGS:
Athlone Farm features 10 unique historic outbuildings that date from the early 1800’s to 1940:
-- The property’s original early brick kitchen, where our forefathers cooked away from the main building for fear of fire.
-- The original fieldstone ash house, where cooking and other ashes were stored for use in making soaps and starting new fires.
-- Three late-nineteenth-century hay barns, some made from hand hewn posts and logs.
-- A late-nineteenth-century frame smokehouse.
--A framed corncrib, with a steep-pitched roof and slanted sides, allowing rain to run off away from the building to keep the corn dry.
-- A stable and a feed barn.
-- “Jenny’s House,” a single room, rustic wood structure.
NOTE: For your safety and in compliance with our insurance coverage, we are unable to grant you access into Athlone’s secured historic outbuildings. In addition, the fenced livestock in our fields are valuable and part of a private agricultural operation. They should not be disturbed or approached.
ATHLONE FARM IS CONVENIENTLY LOCATED:
-- 3 miles from the Rose Mill trailhead of the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail
-- 3.5 miles from the Winton Country Club golf course
-- 5 miles from Saunders Brothers Farm Market
-- 9 miles to the Town of Amherst
-- 11 miles to Loose Shoe Brewing Company and Trapezium Brewing Company
-- 11 miles to Sweet Briar College
-- 18 miles to hiking at Crabtree Falls
-- 22 miles to Wintergreen Ski resort
-- 28 miles from Liberty University and Lynchburg College
-- An easy drive to areas of major interest including Monticello, Appomattox Court House, Charlottesville, Natural Bridge, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Longwood University as well as to scenic byways, the James River, local wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants and other historic homes and sites.