The picturesque farm is surrounded by majestic mountains, the perfect backdrop for a special sleigh ride. Guests are taken on the farm’s private trails, groomed especially for the sleigh, through forest and snow covered fields. The scenery and peace of the woods, animal life, and trails takes one back to nostalgic times.

Friesians of Majesty can accommodate up to four or five adults on the sleigh. The sleigh rides are typically forty-five minutes long unless guests opt to stop for vistas or wildlife. Your traditional sleigh is an ornate vis-a-vis hitched to an elegant friesian pair. The farm also offers the option of a farm tour after a sleigh ride. The farm tour includes cookies, hot drinks, a guided tour of the facilities, meeting the horses and a chance to play with the foals born last spring.

Friesians of Majesty is the only farm of its kind in Vermont to offer the public unique equine experiences in the winter. They are located in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains on a 650-acre full-service breeding and training facility. They are also the largest friesian breeding farm in the US dedicated to the promotion and development of the friesian horse and friesian crosses as modern sporthorses.

Friesians of Majesty, 185 Maggie Ladd Road, P.O. Box 527, Townshend, VT 05353
www.friesiansofmajesty.com
Email: robertlabrie@friesiansofmajesty.com
Telephone: (802)365-7526

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!

In addition to the basics, Sam’s Outdoor Store also carries what we like to call “survival gear”.  This isn’t just outdoor gear.  And who doesn’t need gear, right? Sam’s carries everything you need for outdoor adventures to hikingthe Green Mountains (and getting lost for a month) or climb Mount Everest. Thinking of living off the land as many enjoy doing here in Vermont? Sam’s carries fishing poles and Vermont fishinglicenses; anything guns and ammo; -40 degree sleeping bags; the strongest tick and mosquito repellent on the market; tents; anything fire; raincoats; and…. need we say more? Sounds like a manly shopping paradise all in one store.

On one occasion, “John”, a staff member here in the Brattleboro store, spent over 40 minutes seeking out a jacket for a customer to find they didn’t make the specific style they were looking for. The next day John called them directly to say they found an almost identical match. John went above and beyond and for that, we like to keep it local.

Shopping in Brattleboro isn’t just for the girls and even appeals to kids with their free popcorn.  As a side note, Sam’s has some of the best popcorn in Brattleboro (although the Latchis is a close second).  Popcorn and Patagonia fit perfect together at Sam’s. Check out Sam’s Outdoor Store in downtown Brattleboro just a short walk from our inn and check out their website for deals and steals!

The trail system is open year round and is more than 9 miles long.  The Retreat Trails cover over 400 acres of forest and agricultural land and include some interesting sites, like the Harris Hill Ski Jump, Grafton Cheese Country Store, the old Cemetery and the Retreat Tower.

There is a nice map of the trail system available at several information kiosks along the system, the map is also online here and we have printed copies of the map at the Inn for you as well.

The trails range from flat and easy, to somewhat steep and rocky.  None are really more than “moderate” in difficulty and most can be trekked year round.  We have taken some great winter hikes in the snow up these trails, sliding down the steeper parts in our snow pants.

For those staying with us at our Brattleboro B&B, you can access the trails from our back yard (these trails connect to the shorter Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary Trail).  For others, there are 5 public access points to the trail system – outlined here.

Update: The retreat trail maps seem to be moving all of the time, and the links are occasionally broken.  So we have included the retreat trail map below for your permanent reference.  Click on the image for a full size version of the map that you can print to carry with you when you are hiking the trails.

I have asked some folks around and haven’t had much luck with that either. So far all of the details that we have are that the area east of the water behind us, the “Retreat Meadows” is some type of bird and wildlife sanctuary. We have walked the path many times (its quite a beautiful walk) and have seen plenty of birds and even saw a bald eagle circling overhead last week.

Even in our own yard there are always abundant birds. Some birders who have stayed with us have said that they spotted some unique birds, but for the non-birder like myself, all I can say is that we always have plenty of goldfinches, cardinals, larks, sparrows, bluejays and hummingbirds. As a matter of fact, our giant Japanese Maple is home to about a dozen birds right now.

Anyhow, if you have any information about the who the Hogles are (or were), and / or what specific wildlife is being preserved on this sanctuary, we would love the details to be able to share with our guests.

In the interim, be sure to take the stroll along this path, its a beautiful piece of Brattleboro.

For our guests, the path starts in the back of the yard, to the right.

For non-guests, our parking is limited to guests only, so you can park at the Brattleboro Retreat and pick up this trail along the baseball field. Follow it toward the cliff and you will see the trail there.