We stayed at the Enchanted Cottage Friday 10/8/21 to Monday 10/11/21. The cottage itself has tremendous charm. The decor is quite interesting, showing a lot of thought. I really enjoyed studying the paintings, hangings, and decor on higher areas. Horizontal surface area within reach was at a premium, as we had to move some of the decor to make room for our stuff: books, laptops, phones, etc. If you're visiting during colder months and love tending a real fire in the fireplace, be sure to contact the host ahead of time to ensure firewood, etc. is ready and waiting on arrival. The garden is beautiful and the couch on the porch is really comfy. I'd suggest bringing your own throw blankets if you like to curl up in front of the fireplace on the couch. The ones we brought were washable and soft, much more practical than the one decorating the couch. We like to know what we're wrapped in is freshly washed. There are no window coverings! The cottage is truly isolated and the only visitor we saw was a deer walking by the windows. I walked outside while my wife showered at night and found anyone can see in through the steamed up windows. But then again, you're surrounded by forest. The kitchen is small and cute. We brought stuff to warm up in the microwave so it was fine. The fridge was big enough to hold the food we brought for 3-4 days. Cooking a big meal would be a challenge. The WiFi is useless for anything but email. I measured the upload and download speeds by accessing a speed measuring website. The download speed was 200x slower and the upload speed was 800x slower than what I have at home. And I don't have the highest speed offered in my area at home. Dugspur is truly rural. You feel like you are deep in the heart of farms and ranches. In October it was very picturesque. On Sunday we went to IC DeHart Memorial Park to walk some of their trails. It was a 45 minute drive, but well worth it. It was the second week of October and most of the trail was covered with beautiful fall leaves. We took the yellow trail and walked the 3 miles in just under an hour. You want drive past the tennis courts to park by the picnic area, which has toilets with running water. They were out of toilet paper so come prepared. The trail meanders through beautiful woods, and ends back at the DeHart family graveyard. The tombstones tell their own history through several family generations. We talked to a local woman who takes her dog on walks there frequently. She said that the hot summer months are a completely different experience. In August her dog got stung by many hornets while walking the trails so her dog is no longer willing to walk those trails. Hiking in cool October was a great experience with no pests, so plan accordingly. On our way back we enjoyed some ice cream at the town of Floyd's general store. There was an outdoor concert of Latin music for anyone that wanted to sit and listen. It wasn't crowded and several families brought picnics. Instead of heading straight home to Northern VA on Monday, we made a slight detour to walk the High Bridge trail in Farmville, by the Appomattox River. There's a parking lot with restrooms one mile from the bridge. There's no need to go to the state park to park. If you don't want to walk, you can rent bikes in town. Lots of families were doing that. The historical markers explained the bridge's role at the end of the Civil War when Lee surrendered to Grant. The bridge is impressive. Looking down from the bridge was a bit unnerving for me as I don't enjoy heights. We walked the trail down to the river, under the bridge, and then back up the other side. It was a beautiful hike and seeing the old original bridge supports made me appreciate how much amazing engineering was done back in the 1800's. Because of the detour we took to Farmville, we were on back country roads all the way to Culpeper before we hit the divided highway there to take us the rest of the way back to NoVa. It was a beautiful drive on well-maintained two-lane roads and we made good time. read more

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