PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE WOODLANDS
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The cottages at Georgia’s Barnsley Gardens Resort, (left) are modeled after English bungalows, but their flowering shrubs, shade trees, and porches facing quiet lanes and sidewalks make it easy to picture yourself visiting in some quiet southern village. Don't miss the resort's carefully maintained antebellum ruins and spectacular heirloom gardens, the site of starlight dances, art excursions, or if you choose, solitary gourmet dinners for two, served by the always-smiling staff. Above, the Georgian Revival façade of The Woodlands, promises exactly the kind of coastal sophistication you’d expect just outside Charleston, S.C. You can enjoy five-diamond fare on the dining terrace (above right), or spend hours relaxing around the pool in the inn’s comfortable wooded setting.
ing, hunting, canoeing, biking, horseback riding, nature hikes, even paintball battles. Most interesting, it’s a destination that is both old and new, as the grounds were gradually reclaimed over the last twenty years from the lush southern undergrowth that consumed the property when it was essentially abandoned in the mid-1900s. “You used to drive by on the road and look up here and just see kudzu,” says Recreation Manager Donna Martin, an area native who presides genially over “The Outpost” a reconstructed and deliciously creaky log cabin packed with gifts, souvenirs, and sporting equipment, Guests stop by The Outpost to chat and gear up before heading out to fish, play Frisbee golf, practice archery, take bird watching hikes, try the resort’s sporting
clays shooting course, or many other outdoor activities. The property consists of thousands of rolling acres, from carefully manicured to heavily wooded, with nooks and crannies of all sorts in between. A graceful pair of swans nest at the fishpond. Bocce balls rest on the carefully trimmed lawn, ready to roll. A tiny landscaped spring called “Carl’s Folly” provides a shaded hideaway mere footsteps from the dramatic ruined mansion and its lush, boxwood-based parterre, carefully restored to its original form, based on the design principles of premier 19th century landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing, who also designed the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution. The ruins themselves stand open, partially restored, and available for pic-
nics, dances, and romantic moonlight dinners. Very gently lighted at dusk, the old mansion at eventide is a sight not to be missed, especially when the flowering shrubs and boxwood scent the evening air with their musky aromas. The resort sponsors regular Firefly Evenings at the ruins, with dinner and dancing that echo the mid-19th century affairs of the original owners. Continuing the magical theme, the resort’s official Fairy Godmother, Denise Webb, stands ready to get creative in making your Barnsley Gardens visit a special one. From her prop-crammed office in the restored 1840s stage coach house, where female plantation guests done in by their four-week journey from Savannah were powdered and refreshed for visiting, Denise has an actual wand to work her magic, though it’s usually kept behind glass. 09.4 SEPT.OCT / TRAVELWORLD MAGAZINE