This Travel & Leisure article about my town, Middleburg, nicely sums up why I love it. Come and visit! ​

This Small Town in Virginia Is a U.S. Dupe for the English Countryside—Here's How to VisitMiddleburg's rolling green hills, charming shops, and country inns have all the old world charm of a Jane Austen novel.
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By Madeline Weinfield, Published on June 5, 2025

You don’t have to be Jane Austen obsessed to be dreaming of the English countryside in 2025. This year is the 250th anniversary of the Pride and Prejudice author’s birth and the idea of an idyllic, rose-scented, never-too-hot English countryside has permeated imaginations, bucket lists, and social media feeds seemingly the world over. While we cannot all swing a trip to Austen’s birth country this summer, we can visit somewhere a little closer to home—especially if your home is on the East Coast.

Middleburg, Virginia, about an hour from Washington, D.C., is the state-side answer to a Cotswold’s craving, and there has never been a better time to go. 

Known for its sprawling horse farms, rolling vineyards, historic country inns, and independently owned boutiques, Middleburg has the type of streets and scenery that seem directly pulled from one of Austen’s books. Yet the town has managed to fly under the radar for years, despite being located in the wealthiest county in America (Loudoun County) and despite being a favorite destination of numerous political and Hollywood icons.

Elizabeth Taylor called Middleburg home during her marriage to Senator John Warner, and the Kennedys owned a 166-acre farm here, which they used as a weekend home during their time in the White House. And although JFK famously disliked his weekends here, Jackie remained a local fixture in town even after her husband’s assassination and was a regular at The Red Fox Inn and Tavern. 
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“The unassuming lifestyle of the Virginia Piedmont,” is what charmed Jackie, says Matilda Reuter Engle, who runs Red Fox and whose family has been in Middleburg for seven generations. That lifestyle—with its tony pursuits of fox hunting, horse racing, and polo playing—adds to what Engle points out is Middleburg’s “old-world charm.”  

The old-world, Austen-esque charm is palpable in the postcard-sized downtown, with antique stores and independently owned boutiques like Crème de la Crème, which sells a highly curated selection of European homewares. Owners Tara and Ben Wegdam opened the shop 25 years ago, after successfully running a similar business in Holland. Middleburg proved to be a natural place to open their business after they left Europe. Tara Wegdam is quick to point out that it's Middleburg’s “European charm meets everyday living” that has made the shop such a success. They currently have a customer membership base of more than 100,000 people and run several other locations of their shop in Virginia and Maryland, although the Middleburg spot remains the biggest travel-worthy draw.

Many shops have followed in Crème de la Crème’s footsteps and have thrived in the town, whose population is just 700. Middleburg Books, which opened in 2023 by a local librarian, credits much of its success with those who travel here. “We've found that about 75 percent of our customers are out-of-towners,” says owner Mary Beth Morell. “It's been a delight to see our charming little jewel-box of a bookshop become something of a destination in its own right.”

Other small shops, such as Highcliffe Clothiers, which sells elegant country wear, Federal and Black, which offers home goods and gifts, and Knead, which bakes homemade pizzas, Virginia peanut cookies, and sells sommelier-selected wines, all have devoted fan bases.
Middleburg’s wineries have also helped to establish the area as a destination. And while the wine produced here may not be truly old world, it is a thing of beauty on its own. Virginia’s wine industry has grown substantially in recent years, and local producers, including Greenhill, Boxwood, and Cana are the perfect spots to take it all in. 
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Outside of town, visitors will find two country inns: Salamander and Goodstone. Both hotels are tucked away from town and on substantial parcels of land, and it’s easy to imagine any Jane Austen heroine wandering their grounds.

The Mille Miglia car race began in Brescia, Italy in 1927 and soon became one of the world's foremost iconic car events. In 1977, its format was modified from a race to a time trial, or regularity rally, and every year, owner drivers of classic cars have gathered in Italy to drive the 1,000 mile, or mille miglia event.

​In 2019, the event came to the USA with its inaugural Warm Up USA edition based in our very own Town of Middleburg. That year, despite relatively little in the way of preparation, it was a resounding success both in town and around the area, with cars driving a total of 500 miles, ending up at the Italian Ambassador's residence in Washington DC.

Then came the global pandemic, with Italy suffering more than many countries, but they are a resilient people and today we welcome the Mille Miglia Warm Up USA back to Middleburg, for its 2022 edition, bigger and better than ever! 

The five day event includes several send offs from the town's visitors center, the Pink Box, with kids from the Middleburg Community Charter School and the Hill School providing their energy and voices to spur on the competitors. In total, the cars will travel 500 miles over the course of the event, an excellent preparation for the full Mille Miglia next year in Italy.

Friday afternoon will see a time trial race on Madison Street followed by a good old fashioned street party for all the community, and on Saturday, the racers will start with Cars and Cappuccino at Creighton Farms, followed by a drive to the Italian Ambassador's official residence in Washington DC, and culminating in a cocktail party at the Salamander Resort & Spa here in Middleburg. 

​Middleburg has so much to offer year round; come and see us at our historic office on West Washington Street, formerly a tavern, dating back to the 1800's.

This delightful Middleburg estate, about to hit the market, beautifully encapsulates why one would want to live in this idyllic part of the world. Hidden well away from the beaten track, off a traditional gravel road, the house and barn are sited on ten partially wooded acres and totally insulated from the noise of every day life, except for the sounds of wildlife. 

The house was designed by well respected architect, William E. Poole and built by a local custom builder in 2000. Finishings are to a very high standard and touches such as an eighteenth and a nineteenth century manel, Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors and 10-foot ceilings on the main level make this a home where memories will be created for a lifetime.

Visit 21014Beaverdam.com to pour over the photo album, interactive floor plans and much more. 

My listing of the beautiful Belmar Farm on Saint Louis Road, Middleburg just closed, with happy listing clients and delighted new owners.

The home was built by local custom builder, University Group, in 2005 and consists of almost 8,000 finished square feet on three levels. The land upon which the house sits is quite simply spectacular, with incredible views of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the 25 acre site.

 I must mention the buyers agent with whom I worked on this transaction, Mary Illes, who was absolutely fantastic to work with, and whom I am very grateful for bringing such lovely clients. 

Middleburg, Virginia is a wonderful town, for many reasons. It is historic, often described as quaint, walkable and full of interesting, eclectic shops and great restaurants.

It is also a town which is called home to residents and businesses who care about the town enough to venture out a couple of times a year to help spruce up Middleburg. This spring, clean up day was also an opportunity for folks to get out after a year and more of COVID, safely walking the streets with orange buckets and trash bags, picking up discarded trash items and recyclables.

Yours truly was the weed killer guy, dressed like one of the ghostbusters with backpack sprayer filled to the brim with a white vinegar based organic weed killer.

Notably, the streets were in fact not particularly bad, garbage-wise, partly because people have not been out and about as much as usual but also because there are members of the public who do this themselves every now and then, not for payment, not for any kind of recognition, but because they love their town.

Despite the fact that the town adopted a cigarette butt recycling campaign a couple of years ago, including special butt receptacles attached to all town trash cans, the cleanup volunteers did fill a small bag with butts which will be sent to Terracycle for complete safe recycling.

The town's Salamander Resort & Spa contributed not only with several members of staff who kindly pitched in to help, but supplied a delicious breakfast of coffees and pastries. Other businesses like Northwest Federal Credit Union were well represented with wonderful staff members who pitch in every cleanup day.

The next cleanup is tentatively scheduled for early fall, and there are many regulars ready to step up again - thank you!