The Vermonter stops at the Brattleboro Train Station placing you steps away from food, drinks, arts and culture. Whether it’s brick oven pizza, local flair or delectable Mayan cuisine, there’s something for your tastes within walking distance of the train and our inn. (Want to drop off the bags or freshen up before dinner? Call us, we’ll pick you up from the train at no charge.) There’s always action in downtown Brattleboro, but for you city folks who want to reconnect with nature (or the slopes), taking the Vermonter in the winter is still a great option.

From when the snow begins to fall until spring, Burrows Sports in downtown Brattleboro rents snow shoes and cross country skis. The Retreat Grounds and Solar Hill are minutes away from downtown with entry to intermediate level trails. Ever been ice fishing before? The retreat meadows are prime fishing grounds once the ice is thick enough, or your brave enough. Even better, you can see it from our backyard! Want to take the Vermonter and still hit the big slopes? The Moover (a bus painted like a cow) takes free daily trips to Mount Snow from Brattleboro.

If you’re like me, you might just stay where it’s warm and watch the ice fishing from our sun porch with a good book or enjoy a great local beer at our pub. Either way, taking the Vermonter to Brattleboro is an easy and dependable way to take a winter trip. Call us for reservations and more info about taking the train to Brattleboro.  And remember, as always, we are happy to pick you up and drop you off at the station for no charge.  Hope to see you in Brattleboro this winter!

Many studios will have live demonstrations with their art and crafts for sale.

Hand made tiles, ceramics, fabrics and even cheese makers will be represented this year at the Putney Craft Tour as well.  Plus you can experience all this while driving casually through the beautiful country side of southern Vermont, along side rolling rivers and stream, through the green mountains.  It’s a great way to pick up some locally crafted gifts for the holidays while taking some time for yourself.

So if you are “turkeyed out” after Thanksgiving and have dropped after your Black Friday shopping, come rest with us here at our Vermont B&B and take a few days and reconnect before you head back to work on Monday.  And be sure to pick up the Putney Craft Tour Map, which we will of course have available for our guests.

The Putney Craft Tour is held Thanksgiving weekend each year, but the participating studios change annually. Be sure to check www.PutneyCrafts.com for the most recent listings.

Originally called the Wantastiquet Golf Club, this Brattleboro golf club was founded in 1889 as a six hole course and today is rated one of America’s Top Golf Courses by Zagat. Rudyard Kipling, Author Conan Doyle, Francis Ouimet and Tom MacNamara were among some of the many golf enthusiasts to frequent the 100 year old golf course. After changing hands from the Brattleboro Retreat in 1914, the grand opening of the official Brattleboro Country Club kicked off its new 9 hole course with a Japanese lawn party and trap shooting. Today, there are 18 holes of golf equipped with a challenging spread of par 3’s to par 5’s.

Today, Brattleboro Country Club offers both members and guests the option to book tee times online. Play 9 holes of golf in the morning, grab lunch at the Fairway Tavern, then venture downtown to explore the shops and Brattleboro culture. If it’s 18 holes of golf in southern Vermont you’re looking for, book in advance and finish your day on the deck with an afternoon snack, such as Brattleboro’s best seafood hor d’oeuvres or a cheese platter paired with a local Vermont beer (of course!).

Even on a rainy day, the Brattleboro Country Club’s Fairway Tavern has a covered porch, easy parking and a view, especially during fall foliage . When fall foliage is over and the snow begins to fall, the green turns into groomed trails for snow shoeingand cross country skiing. For more information about a golfing in southern Vermont or golf lessons, visit the Brattleboro Country Club website or call them directly at the Golf Shop 802-257-7380 or the Clubhouse 802-254-9864.  And if you’re looking for a place to stay, we’d be happy to put a golf package together for you!

At Forty Putney Road B&B, we are proud to have our large Japanese Maple included in the tour.  The Maple was planted by the patients of the Vermont Asylum around 1930.  In the 80 years since, it has grown to become one of the largest (if not the largest) Acer Palmatum in North America.

You can download a map and information about 9 of the trees on the tour (including our Maple) here as a PDF file.  The Chamber also has some printed versions available.

Bob Audette from the Brattleboro Reformer recently covered the Tree Walk, here is an excerpt from their article:

People in the community submitted nominations for trees they thought should be included in the map, said Lynn Levine, project manager.

“It was a chance for the community to be involved in thinking about their trees,” she said.

“We did this because history has proven when people know about something they fall in love with it and take care of it,” said Helene Henry, chairwoman of the Tree Advisory Committee.

The committee received about 50 nominations from the community, said Levine.

Of the 22 trees featured on the walk, nine have descriptions written up in the map flyer. One of the nine, a tree located next to Wells

Fountain near Windham District Court, is a graft of a Camperdown Elm from Scotland, said Levine. Though she didn’t know when the elm was planted in Brattleboro, the original tree was planted in Scotland in the 1830s.Because the tree has an umbrella shape, said Levine, “It’s a great place for kids to hide.”

One of the more unusual discoveries for the committee, she said, was a small community space behind the American Red Cross building on High Street.

Several years ago, an ancient gravesite was unearthed there, belonging to the “Red-Painted People” who traveled through the area from about 5,000 to 1,000 B.C. The gravesite was established sometime around 3,600 B.C.

In the protected area there is a small walkway through the parcel that has several different trees in it, said Levine.

“It’s a refuge in the middle of Brattleboro. Not a lot of people know about it.”

The name of the parcel is the Grove Refuge.

In the backyard of the 40 Putney Road Bed and Breakfast is a very large Japanese Maple. The owners of the lodging establishment, Tim and Amy Brady, agreed to let the tree committee add the maple to the Treasured Tree Walk.

“They are allowing people to go and visit it,” said Levine.

“We believe it might be the largest Japanese Maple in North America,” said Tim Brady. It’s at least the largest in New England, according to an expert who took a look at it six years ago.

The 2.25-mile trail is “easy,” said Levine, and starts at the American Sycamore tree at Harris Place.

The Sycamore is like a beacon, said Brattleboro resident Chuck Hornsby, “reflecting the late afternoon sun off its light gray/white trunk and limbs. In the moonlight, it seems to glow.”

From Harris Place, the walk winds its way to Putney Road, Main Street, Grove Street, Oak Street and High Street.

“It’s a loop trail,” she said.

If you are interested in seeing our tree, please walk down the driveway and view from the parking area, or take the stone path to the lower gardens. There is no parking available at our inn for non-guests (sorry but we have a very small parking area).

UPDATE: Unfortunately for us (but fortunate for Tom and Sally) they have closed this retail location to expand. Tom and Sally’s has merged with Hauser Foods in Rhode Island. We will miss them and wish them the best as they continue to grow.

ORIGINAL POST: This winter, in between shoveling, we have taken some time to get out and about and check out some of the indoor activities around Brattleboro. Last week, we checked out Tom and Sally’s Handmade Chocolate’s just up the road from our Brattleboro B&B on Route 30.  It was an interesting (and tasty) find!

We were surprised to learn the diversity of Tom and Sally’s products.  They produce over 100 varieties of hand filled chocolates, chocolate bars, and organic chocolate bars.  Of course, let’s not forget about the Vermont Cow Pies and Vermont Cow Licks, which are fun gifts for the kids.  At the other end of the spectrum, Tom and Sally’s were the first to produce edible chocolate body paint for adults.   They also show their sense of humor with other types of candy packaged with unique illustrations and commentary like their popular “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” candies (you’ll have to see this).

Tom and Sally’s Homemade Chocolates is a fun place to visit while staying at Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast.   The factory store is open Monday through Saturday from 9am – 5pm (and Sunday 12pm – 5pm during peak season). Tours are available at 10am and 2pm for $7 this includes samples, it is suggested you call to let them know you are coming in for a tour. Be sure to say hi to Sally and tell her you saw her on InnBrattleboro!