What a beautiful spot. So happy we found it, enjoyed the day here, exploring and being witness to…read moreso much in nature that we often don't take the time to see. The paths throughout are all maintained and the sounds that are so quiet except for the natural sounds of birds, frogs and even a chipmunk or two. It was such a pleasure to visit, thank you

A fantastic little getaway. I only did the trails but they were a nice time. The boardwalk has…read moresome nice views, and even the pathways are nice little escape.

Such a beautiful estate. Gardens and sunset concert series. This night we had Food trucks…read moreavailable and full bar. So relating

8/2/25: While visiting Rhode Island, we decided to take a side trip to Blithewold in the town of…read moreBristol. Since it had been ages since last visiting, I only had a faint recollection of the estate having incredibly beautiful gardens. Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum was established by Augustus and Bessie Van Wickle in the 1890s as their summer estate. Mr. Van Wickle made his fortune in the coal mining industry. The estate overlooks beautiful Narragansett Bay. Due to our schedule, our main focus was to just visit the special bamboo bird exhibit and gardens. We went to the admission desk. Luckily, since my friend was a Met member, we got in free. We casually mentioned, we were here to see the special bird exhibit. The staff was very friendly, but didn't make any mention of the bird exhibit. As we walked through the gardens, we saw so many beautiful flowers and lush trees. In one section, there's a large growth of stunning bamboo. As mentioned earlier, the estate had a special exhibit of six bamboo birds ranging from 15 to 30 feet in height. August 11th is the exhibit's last day. All the birds were absolutely striking in appearance. It's incredible, how these birds can be designed from bamboo. Taking one star off for the following: It was quite tiring walking the extensive grounds, due to the heat. In fact, it was difficult to make it close enough to see the sixth bird (Owl). Wish the visitor's section would've offered some type of mini tram to take you through the gardens. Even at an extra cost, it would've been worth it, due to the length of the gardens. However, Blithewold is definite must see when visiting Rhode Island.

We were strolling around the neighborhood and stumbled on this museum and show. Met by a very…read morepleasant greeter, we were asked to consider a donation which we gladly did! Bright, small, and intimate, we took a moment to enjoy the art shows. What I discovered was sketch books throughout that you are encouraged to use. I, who have no talent, even enjoyed a few moments of introspection and doodled. My wife, who is very talented, did the same! It's a worthwhile place to visit and support.

Beautiful, intimate art museum with great artists and programs. I particularly enjoyed the…read moremeditation hour they have on Friday mornings, so wonderful. Would highly recommend!

I walk by all the time but I'd never been in. I'd heard a rumor that as a museum, they didn't…read moreconfront or wrestle with their strong early ties to the slave trade. But I recently heard that this is incorrect, so I decided to find out for myself. If you have avoided this estate museum, it is time you venture inside. The house built in 1810 is steeped in history and you will learn ALL the history, from Dewolf to Colt to Barrymore. The house is well preserved. I especially loved the bathrooms! Check out their website for admission info, and to learn more history about this beautiful property.

A local treasure of history and culture. On levels with so many historic homes in New Englsnd and…read moreyet to say you know Bristol or even RI history without visiting here you have cheated yourself. Be challenged and be awed by beauty, architecture, and history. And do not miss it!

I'm a preservation society member so I wanted to take full advantage and pop in here yesterday…read more It's been a decade since I last went, so it was so nice to just walk around the gardens and take everything in. The flowers are beautiful and so are the topiaries. It doesn't take you long to walk through, especially if you're like me and by yourself, but definitely worth the trip outside of downtown Newport to visit.

Looking for something to do before the rain came brought me here. Abrasive staff, walking up to buy…read moremy ticket, I get stopped and barked at if I had a ticket, and I said 'no I'm buying now", and am told I can't help you, you have to go in there, as she stands behind a sign that says where to buy tickets, and where I was going before I was stopped. As for the place itself, its ok. Nothing special, and probably not worth the price, but to get outside and to do something different for 45 minutes or so it does its job. Unfortunately the experience with staff soured the experience.

This is an incredibly well-curated collection of historical artifacts representing not only the…read morehistory of Bristol but also of our country as well. The permanent collection is deep and they are able to draw upon it to mount changing exhibits. The latest is the history of local businesses in town, specifically the Mom and Pop shops that have come and gone. Other enlightening exhibits have focused on the Portuguese history of our small town and the role of women. The society is also an invaluable resource for genealogists and historians.

While out for a walk around Bristol, we took a warming break at the Rogers Free Library. Beautiful…read morelibrary with a gorgeous 1877 exterior and a newly renovated interior. I loved these beautiful old books that were still on the shelves. Very clean and comfortable. They also offer a small selection of books for sale.

The old and the new…read more Rogers Free Library was always a very cool place to look at books. Built way back in 1877 out of brown sandstone, it had a very dignified and pleasantly archaic look about it. However it was small and just didn't have enough room to hold many books or other typical library conveniences. Finally a couple of years ago the town decided to do something about their charming if diminutive library and expanded the original library into the long out of business Bristol Furniture Company building right next door. In fact the two old buildings were actually touching so turning them into one larger building wasn't a difficult as it sounds. The results are fantastic. The area of the library has more than tripled, giving room for many more books, several new meeting and study rooms and very importantly 50 new computer stations open to the public. The two buildings blend together seamlessly and you can't even tell exactly which one you are in without stopping and thinking about it. The great thing is that the library still has that great small town, very inviting and comfy feeling. Definitely not sterile, static and homogenized like many more modern libraries. Modern technology can never replace the great feel of being in a old building. The Rogers Free Library is a great example of how to do something right. They manages to add the new without losing or sacificing the old. It always was a great place to read a book, now it's even better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOVmwyYJuEE&feature=related This youtube video is in honor of Lydia L, The Space Cowgirl from NY who has some of the coolest videos on Yelp. The old and the new.

We greatly enjoyed our visit today! We were greeted by Shelly, a kind woman dressed in period…read moreclothing. She asked us if we wanted to tour the garden, see animals or make crafts. She also showed us several old-fashioned games which we really enjoyed playing outside. We enjoyed seeing the kitchen where Indian pudding and fried squash were being made over an open fire. We also got to try our hand at grinding flour, planing wood and fed the cows and pigs from the garden! The location is beautiful with the bay in the background. It was so enjoyable to be in nature and to step back into the Past. The museum is also participating with the Blue Star military program, which is awesome!!

Phantoms and Fires (Halloween event) review: During Covid…read moretimes with not a lot of Halloween festivities happening in RI, it was great to hear about this event especially for kids since Halloween will be unlike any Halloween I have ever experienced! The ads had me excited- great job! For adults: If you like theatre, being outside walking in the dark and Poe- this is totally for you! As we entered the grounds, we were waved into a large parking area (not lite at all.) Turned in our tickets at a little structure decked out in orange lights, were given a sheet identifying the happenings of the evening and made our way up to the homestead area guided by lanterns with real candles inside. As we approached the first structure it was well lit, no sign, no one around. So we kept walking. The next structure had a female delivering dialogue- a story about a farmer's wife, how she became tormented and dealt with her torment. I was blown away by he theatrics, her long monologue and how she held the presence of the audience. It was then easy to identify after hearing her and noticing that people then flocked to the next location and waited for the next presentation to begin. The rest of the night went on this way where you went to the structure, waited for the next theatrical performance and moved on. There was a nice break with a musician from NYC who delivered 3 songs, 1 original, one country and then a Peter Gabriel hit. Feeling cold? Stand by the fire! For Kids: We attended with a 7 and 9 year old who both dressed in their costumes for the Halloween event. From the advertisements I was ready for a night all ages could enjoy. My husband and I definitely discussed that this is not an event for young kids. We had a 5 year old going but last minute had to be cancelled- this event was too grown up for her and the 7/9 year old needed a lot of help from the adults to understand what was happening. The advertisement on the website states: Explore the museum after hours where you will find spooky delights from bats and bonfires to cauldrons and candy, from ghosts and guitars to horror and...maybe even...a headless horseman! No bats or cauldrons or I guess more than words use to describe ghosts in Edgar Allen Poe language that maybe the kids couldn't understand. I can say that they did catch on to system and became captivated by the theatrics. No complaints but it wasn't as I expected from their ads. I can say that collecting stamps to get a bag of treats at the end was their favorite although this process was hard to understand as well and the Headless Horseman (a lady) was a big thrill for them. Things they could do better/Safety review: Tell patrons to bring flashlights as it is not very well lite (even the parking lot.) The only bathrooms were 2 porta potties at the parking lot! Small hike from festivities. No had sanitizer at the check in desk where they ask you to use a communal pen for contact tracing (it's Covid times people!) The walk up to the structures is not flat and large rocks lay there- beware! We had a trip and a fall in our group. Be careful visiting the fire- all the wood is a few steps away laying on the ground and it's pretty dark. The stamp collecting station- the poor workers had no light to help them see what they were doing! Also, we were told to stop at the jack-o-lanterns to obtain the stamps but one guy gave us 2 stamps, we could not find one station (come to find out the girl who was working the station was wandering) and another station the lights had burnt out in the pumpkin so we were unsure if it was a station! (Honestly- great idea just needs some work.) As we were listening to the last actress deliver her performance (at the end of the night) the people working the showing were coming in and out of the gate next to her and people were leaving for the night. I found this very unfair to the actress and us as paid patrons. Our ticket was at 6:30 with the event ending at 8pm. There were 7 stops on the program. By the team we got into the event- we only had time to stop at 5 performances (one being the music.) As we were leaving the kids questioned how come we couldn't meet the last 2 characters.

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of touring the historic Lippitt House in Providence--and it was…read moreabsolutely amazing! What made the experience truly unforgettable was our guide, Elizabeth Gilbert (not the author of Eat, Pray, Love, but THE Elizabeth Gilbert who brings history to life). Her tour was informative, engaging, and full of fascinating details that transported us straight into the elegance of Victorian times. If you're visiting magical Providence, don't miss this gem. It's a beautiful step back in time, guided by someone who clearly loves what she does.

The house is beautiful and full of original furniture. Our guide Elizabeth was very professional,…read moreknowledgeable and friendly. She loves history and answered all our questions. Enjoyed the tour immensely! I would recommend this tour as a DONT MISS!