A visit to Kennett Sq

[Tux61096]

So my Mom wants to take a trip this summer to the Longwood & Winterthur gardens near Kennett Sq PA, I thought perhaps we'd add something "horsey" into the trip as well since I know there are many farms in the area, any suggestions?

Also looking for B&B recommendations if anyone has any. Thanks for any help.

[AppJumpr08]

Plantation Fields horse trials (http://plantationfieldhorsetrials.com/cms/) is right down the road from Kennett - they have lots of HTs through the season. Perhaps they will be running one while you are in the area :)

[lovemyoldguy]

My sister and I took my mother to KS for the weekend earlier this year and we stayed at Faunbrook B&B - website is http://www.faunbrook.com/. It was really wonderful - a lovely old house, the young couple that runs it is very nice, and they have a great dog. :D I'd highly recommend it!

[Highflyer]

Tour of New Bolton?

[gloryeyes]

Tour of New Bolton?

Oh, do it! NBC is AMAZING!

[Tux61096]

OK, now I'm really getting excited for this trip. Thanks for all the great tips, we might have to make this trip just a little longer to fit everything in!

Any other suggestions welcome, I have the whole cold, snowy winter to plan this. :yes:

[LexInVA]

Good ole Kennett Square AKA The Mushroom Kingdom. It's a nice place to visit. Some quaint little restaurants and pretty parks. Wonderful little pizza places and sandwich shops too. I wish I still had friends living there. :(

[Evalee Hunter]

mbj who posts here sometimes has a horsey bed, breakfast & stall:

www.laurelsforge.com

She is near Unionville which is kind of one with Kennett Square.

Farms you might think about touring:

Iron Spring Farm is very close to KS.

True Prospect Farm (Phillip Dutton) is quite close - it's officially West Grove.

There are other beautiful farms - Bruce Davidson's Chesterland, Jessica Ransehousen's Blue Hill, and probably dozens I'm forgetting at the moment - but I'm not sure about visiting. Perhaps someone else can advise you.

Of course, Hilltop is in Colora MD which is probably only 30 - 45 min. from KS (at least with my daughter driving).

The Hassler's new farm is a bit further south in MD. And there's always High Point Hanoverians.

Tack shops are numerous & lots of fun - Bartville, Unionville, Rick's Heritage, Bit of Britain are all in the immediate area. Dover is close by in Hockessin, DE.

Oh, yes, you are traveling to horsey heaven.

While New Bolton is a very interesting place, I took a 4-H group on a tour & was very discouraged. We didn't see much & the tour guide was a woman who worked for years in the New Bolton cafeteria. She was not a vet or a vet student or even a vet nurse so she had little knowledge. I had a hard time arranging the tour & it was a huge disappointment. Perhaps things have gotten better now.

[Susan P]

As long as you're dipping south into MD visit Fair Hill and Fairwinds nearby has a bed and breakfast for humans and equines but even if you don't bring your horses you can call Fair Hill Stables and get a couple horses and go for a ride around the area but I suggest a guided trail ride. With over 5,000 acres you could be lost and never found. Good thing the horses know the way home and will no doubt get you there in time for their dinner. Call Ken at 410 620-3883 or talk to whomever answers the phone and see about setting up a trail ride. Tell Ken that Sue sent you, Leo's Mom. Just give them your riding ability so they know what to plan for. Also tell them how long of a trail ride you want, if you want to ride near Fair Hill Training Center where Barbaro was trained or other parts of the park. I think you'll love it. Weather permitting and also the horse's welfare is always their priority. They try really hard to please and are reasonably priced. Then come to my farm, just 10 minutes away and visit my Nokota horses, I have 3 www.nokotahorse.org (http://www.nokotahorse.org) and get some good horsey loving. One of my horses is Leo who used to be a trail guide for a couple years, private of course, not part of the FHS horses, I leased him to one of the employees there. You could also arrange for a tour of Fair Hill Training Center with Sally Goswell by calling her or Jim Coarse at 410 398-2992, stop by the favorite deli of the people who spend their lives at FHTC at Prizzio's near the intersection of 273 just off of 213 next to the Fasig-Tipton office. Then plan to go to Dansko outlet in Jennersville, on Baltimore Pike just south of West Grove then to Outback outlet in Oxford, on the main street which is also the business district of Rt. 10 then the best chocolate in the world Neuchatel just further down Rt. 10 on your way to Iron Springs and you could stop by the little Amish farm market just before you hit the chocolates which is just past the Bit of Britain store, have dinner at The Whip in Unionville on Rt. 841.

[Susan P]

And also stop in Avondale, between Kennett and West Grove at Cutone and pick up an assortment of fresh and jars of mushrooms. You won't be sorry if you like them. They have exotics of all kinds as well as the standard white and they have their own brand of marinated in assorted flavors.

If you like Mexican food my favorite is Palacia Maya close to Dover Saddlery in Hockessin, DE.

[Hunter Princess]

Not to hijack, but if anyone in the KS/Oxford area could shoot me a PM, I'd appreciate it:)

[`reppy]

If you come in the spring you could hit up the Devon Horse Show at the end of May. Always a great experience. Plus, Longwood and Winterthur are absolutely breath-taking in the spring.

As others have said try to see if you can tour the great breeding farms in the area; Iron Springs, Hilltop, Hassler Dressage, High Point Hanoverians.

Kennett Square is a great little town, and West Chester, which is like 20 mins away, is also great. Some restaurants I'd recommend: The Whip on 841 in Unionville, The Blue Moon Cafe right in Kennett on State Street andThe Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester on High Street.

If for some reason you can't find a B&B theres a Hilton right outside of Kennett on Rt. 1. Never stayed in it as I live 5 mins. away but it looks nice...

[Susan P]

I live in West Grove in between both towns and my farm is near Fair Hill but still within PA.

You can email me at Barnmom45@aol.com I'd love to help you around the area, I do that for people out of town a lot. I should be a travel guide.



Not to hijack, but if anyone in the KS/Oxford area could shoot me a PM, I'd appreciate it:)

[Susan P]

If you come for Devon please come and watch the leadline class. We're planning on taking my 4 year old granddaughter.

She's been taking lessons with Erika King and having so much fun. http://www.kingsrun.net/ and her photos are on their album http://www.kingsrun.net/photos.html as the fairy princess and the tiny rider on the bay.



If you come in the spring you could hit up the Devon Horse Show at the end of May. Always a great experience. Plus, Longwood and Winterthur are absolutely breath-taking in the spring.

As others have said try to see if you can tour the great breeding farms in the area; Iron Springs, Hilltop, Hassler Dressage, High Point Hanoverians.

Kennett Square is a great little town, and West Chester, which is like 20 mins away, is also great. Some restaurants I'd recommend: The Whip on 841 in Unionville, The Blue Moon Cafe right in Kennett on State Street andThe Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester on High Street.

If for some reason you can't find a B&B theres a Hilton right outside of Kennett on Rt. 1. Never stayed in it as I live 5 mins. away but it looks nice...

[Hunter Princess]

You have an e-mail :-)

[Tux61096]

As usual, the COTH crowd is full of helpful information. Thank you to everyone who posted!

[Everythingbutwings]

Don't forget all the lovely TACK SHOPS nearby!

Rick's Heritage (http://www.saddlesource.com/) - 1340 Pottstown Pike, West Chester, PA 19380

Dover (http://www.doversaddlery.com/default.asp) - 683 Yorklyn Road, Hockessin, DE 19707 or 10 Fila Way, Sparks, MD 21152

Bit of Britain (http://www.bitofbritain.com/) - 141 Union School Rd., Oxford, PA 19363

Driving Essentials (http://www.drivingessentials.com/) - 10 Trinity Drive, Leola, PA 17540

Bartville Harness - 1243 Noble Road Christiana, PA 17509 ...