6 Covered Bridges in a Day Part 2

Capturing 6 covered bridges on a scenic drive part 2

Welcome my fall foliage friends. In the last article, I started the day at 6:57 AM at the Jenne Farm and we only got to the Dingleton Covered Bridge which included 3 of today’s covered bridges. We ended the article at 10 AM and today we’re going to go from 10 AM to 1:33. Ending the article at… well, you’ll just have to see.

Blacksmith Shop Covered Bridge (10:03)

The morning is bright and cool, just the way you want your fall vacation to be. Lisa has the Gazetteer out and points out our next covered bridge in Cornish New Hampshire. Just follow Town House Road up and around to the right for a short 2.7 miles and don’t get going too fast because the Blacksmith Shop Bridge will be almost hidden on the right and it’s easy to miss it. It’s also known as the Kenyon Covered Bridge.

There is a fair amount of room to pull over and park your car and then walk down the path to the bridge. I like a couple of things about this bridge. First, someone has hung an American flag over the opening, though if they were really nice they would get a flag with the correct number of stars/states for the early 1800s. But who is getting picky here? 🙂

My favorite shot is on the path as you come down the path. I shot this in a portrait aspect meaning I turned the camera 90 degrees so I can get the path leading the viewer’s eye down the path and to the opening of the bridge.

I will admit to some artistic license here as you will notice as you stand in front of the covered bridge that there is a wooden barricade across the front and back. Here are my pictures you will see that I removed the wooden beam in Photoshop. In fact, only horses cross it now and even then, I think that may be pushing it. I walked across and it felt safe to me but some boards felt a bit soft so watch it if you venture out across it.

I didn’t feel that the view from the other side was really worth it and looking back toward the bridge wasn’t near as nice as from the front side.

We left the covered bridge and back to our car another couple had pulled in behind us and they asked how we found this covered bridge (it’s hard to spot from the road). Lisa showed them the Gazetteer and what to look for on the map. We continued on Town House Road and made a right on Route 120 and another right down in Claremont, NH. Head NW on Spring St, and turn right on Main St. which takes you back over the Connecticut River into Vermont and our next stop.

Cavendish Historical Society and Universalist church (11:10 AM)

We were heading to Ludlow but before we got there, I spotted this old stone church and a more modern wooden church just down the road on the other side. This is the Cavendish Historical Society and what was at one time the Cavendish Universalist church. I talked to the curator and she suggested the Cavendish Connects website for more information on the area.

Lunch at the potbelly pub, Ludlow Vermont (11:28 AM)

We continued down Route 131 into Ludlow and being lunchtime we decided to stop at one of the restaurants. The one with a really great name was the Pot Belly Pub. Now we thought the food was good but it took a while to get to us (Maybe because they were just opening up. So if you try this place, let us know what you think.

Maple Hill Road, Belmont, VT (1 PM)

After you have a bit of lunch in Ludlow, you can head west to Belmont Vermont.

This is a cute little town and worth your time to visit. They were having a Columbus Day celebration but as we were there on Friday, nothing had started yet. We headed South out of Belmont and a short drive up the road you will find a turn-off to the right (west) which is Maple Hill Road.

You may have seen images of a country dirt lane that you wish you knew how to find… Well, this is it. Someone planted sugar maples along both sides of the road and no matter what time of day you should be able to make a really nice image. Foggy? No problem, sunny lovely, cloudy? Moody? Everything would be good for me.

You can leave here either by retracing your steps to Belmont Road or continuing through Route 155 and continuing south.

The Vermont Country Store (1:33 PM)

Our last stop for this article is the Vermont Country Store which is in Weston Vermont. Yes everybody goes there and for a good reason, they can find “Made in Vermont Products” (at least some of them). You will find clothing of many types and descriptions to artisan cheeses and from toys to things that just say Vermont at its best.

Now that you have walked around; you might be feeling a need for a snack or a full lunch. Depending on whether you stopped in Ludlow for lunch or hold out till you got here, you’ll find something tasty. They have a full restaurant if you are up for that but if a snack is what you have a hankering for, I suggest a maple creemee!

If you are asking what a creemee is? Basically, it’s soft-serve ice cream. But here in Vermont, you can get a maple creemee made with Vermont maple syrup. I need a bumper sticker that says

“I Brake for Maple Creemees!”

If you want to read part three where we close out the last few covered bridges, click here…

OH! if you didn’t read part 1 click here to see how our day started out.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

Visit my Amazon affiliate store for items that Lisa and I have curated for you. These items are either New England-made or things we think will make your fall foliage trip more successful.