
We are from the D.C. area, so driving to Middleburg is an easy 50 mile trip to the most beautiful country nearby. We strolled along Washington Street, Middleburg’s main street, and stopped at Cuppa Giddyup for an excellent cup of organic, fair trade coffee. We had come to check out the organic food store named the Home Farm Store. The store features many cuts of organic meats raised on the owners’ 800 acre farm, Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, plus organic produce, homemade sausage, (which is out of this world), cheeses, and herbs. The friendly clerk at the Home Farm Store told us that the owner Sandy Lerner had also opened a restaurant, the Hunter’s Head Tavern, in Upperville. The restaurant featured all the produce and meats from her farm, so we made a plan to have dinner there. It was early afternoon and a sparkling cool July day, so we sat at an outside pub, the Red Fox Inn, for a cold beer and to ponder our next activity in the country before leaving the beautiful town of Middleburg. We drove down the road a few miles through Upperville, past the Hunter’s Head Tavern, and spent the afternoon hiking on the horse paths in Sky Meadows State Park. Sky Meadows State Park is a 1,600 acre park with beautiful views of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and 12 miles of hiking trails, including a link to the Appalachian Trail.
After a couple of hours of hiking, we drove back to Hunter’s Head Tavern to sit outside on the large blue slate patio outside the historic tavern. Our dinner was fabulous. We walked inside to an old wooden bar and ordered from a chalkboard that has the daily organic, sustainable choices which are fresh from Ayrshire Farm. Ours included some fabulous meats from her farm and a delicious salad of fresh greens and of course some great Virginia wine. We would highly recommend both a trip to Middleburg for a gorgeous day in the country and a picnic bought from the Home Farm Store or a delicious dinner at the Hunter’s Head Tavern for some delectable meats raised organically. There is no denying the taste of grass fed beef is the tastiest.
Ayrshire Farm is open to the public twice a year, the third weekend in May for the Loudoun Valley’s Spring Farm Tour and 1st weekend in November for the Annual Beastie Bazaar animal fundraiser.
The Home Farm Store
1E. Washington Street
Middleburg, Virginia
Hunter’s Head Tavern
9048 John Mosby Hwy
Upperville, Virginia
Ayrshire Farm
Upperville, Virginia