As it usually happens in life, you lose on one side, but you win on the other (the explanation to follow a little later). For the time being, let me just say that since we were not aware that we missed out on the Old Sturbridge Village, rather walking around a new village of the same name, my friend Daniela and I continued with our further visit of the west sections of New England at a leisurely pace and with the feeling of content.
The next destination I had envisaged was in fact a walk through a forest. Both Daniela and I are keen on walking in nature and the agreement from the start was that this must be a part of our journey and visits.
Having left Sturbridge, we headed west, passing through a town called Springfield and getting close to a small placed called Lee. Here we were well in the territory of the area called the Berkshires. This is a region that includes the west parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut, and it is famous for its exceptionally beautiful nature, green foothills of mountain ranges, lakes and ponds, and all of that dispersed along a river valley… In other words, this region has everything that makes a place idyllic, especially if you ask nature lovers.
Before this trip, out of a large number of trails that exist in west Massachusetts I managed to find a short one that started quite close to the road I planned for us to be on.
But, we could not find the beginning of that trail, so we drove to the beginning of another one – the Finerty Trail that led to a pond of the same name, i.e., to Finerty Pond.
There we left the car at a clearing by the road that practically serves as a parking lot and started with our walk. There are 3.5 km from this point to Finerty Pond, which means that our plan was to cover a total of 7 km.
Finerty Trail
In fact, we did not have any concrete plan except to go to the pond and back, but we were very happy that we finally had the time to chat and we rejoiced in the fact that after several years we had the opportunity to spend some time together.
In some sections the trail goes along a flat terrain, then it also occasionally goes mildly uphill only to descend once you reach the pond. The sight was very pretty and it was especially nice to see the autumnal colours of the leaves that are characteristic of the Berkshires region, as well as the state of Vermont that was the main destination of ours during this journey.
Finerty Pond
Finerty Pond, a detail
At the beginning of this sequel of my travel story, I suggested that I won something here, as a counterbalance to the fact that I did not visit the Old Sturbridge Village although I was so close to it.
Since I like to walk/hike, one of my great desires, for years now, has been to walk along the Appalachian Trail. The trail has been named after the Appalachian Mountains or the Appalachians, a mountain range in the east and northeast parts of North America. These mountains extend from southeast Canada in the north to the central parts of Alabama in the south. On an average, they are not very high and they don’t have very pointed, steep summits. For these reasons, the Appalachian Trail some 3500 km long has been formed over time.
Needless to say, covering that trail is absolutely out of my reach, but when researching different trails in this part of the USA where we were now, I realised that the Appalachian Trail passed nearby.
As far as I could see on the map, Finerty Trail that Daniela and I were now on is not a part of the Appalachian Trail, but both of the trails include the reaching of Finerty Pond from the same side. I would like to believe that I at least touched upon the walking trail that I find so attractive and this is what I see as an additional win coming from this hike.
In any case, both Daniela and I enjoyed thoroughly, but when we finally reached the pond, we realised that the day was actually getting close to its end and that we did not have a lot of time during which we were to have the daylight. We had to cover those 3.5 km going back to the car and that certainly meant at least one hour since the trail occasionally leads over rocks and bigger stones and we had to be careful about where we were putting our feet, which partially slowed down our movement.
We stayed by the pond for a very short period of time and then hurriedly, as much as the ground allowed us, we headed back. We did not encounter anybody either on our way to the pond and on our way back, but that was not a problem for us at all. We just wondered if there were any animals that we should worry about. When it started to get dark, we both took a stone each in one of our hands as a potential defence tool, while holding our mobile phones in our other hand with the torches switched on in order to facilitate our walking and make it safer. We were both very relieved when we finally saw our parked car with a very clear agreement that we would not do something like this ever again.
By this time it was completely dark and that’s why we drove to a nearby small town, Lee, where we had booked a room in one of the hotels.
Soon we could relax completely alongside a beer. I did not want to take any well-known brand on purpose and the one that I did take was quite good.
A beer to relax
The next day, after breakfast, we continued some 7 km further to the west to the town of Stockbridge, still in the state of Massachusetts, where we parked the car and then went for a walk.
Stockbridge was founded in 1734 as an Indian mission and today this is a typical New England town. The guidebook I used recommended a walk around the centre of the place.
Since we parked the car in the main street, first I noted a building from 1914 where there used to be a school, but today it hosts the administrative offices of the town.
Stockbridge, building of a former school
But, what caught my attention in particular were numerous houses the facades of which were made of clapboards. Although this technique of finishing the construction of houses originates in the United Kingdom, from where it spread across the colonies including America, I found it especially noticeable here, in New England.
Stockbridge, a detail
The houses are very well maintained and decorated here, such as the one seen in the photo below which was originally built around 1780.
Stockbridge, a detail
Of course, not all the houses have the same type of façade, but I also found it very pretty to see estates and houses with no fence at all. On the other hand, one should not think that it is allowed here to walk wherever one pleases – these are all private properties and even when it is not specifically written, it is self-understood that one should not enter without permission.
Stockbridge, a detail
After a short walk along the main street, we also went along one of the side streets and it soon led us to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church that was built at the foot of a small hillock in the period 1860-1862.
Stockbridge, a detail
There is a lawn beside the church behind which starts the hillock completely covered in forest.
Stockbridge, a detail
We walked along this street a little more and then we went back to the main street that is called precisely like that – the Main Street. There we thought of going for a coffee, but we eventually gave up the idea. Still, that did not prevent us from visiting a couple of other places.
One of them was a passage with different small shops and offices called “The Mews.” Historically, the term “mews” was used to denote private horse stables in a town which often also had a residential quarter above the ground floor. Over time, these buildings most often completely changed their purpose and they are often turned into fully residential buildings. This is particularly popular in the UK (London) where such buildings may cost a fortune. Here in Stockbridge, the place included several shops, offices and cafes situated within a relatively small area with the common name.
Stockbridge, a detail
As it could be seen in some of the previous photos, the US flags hang in a lot of places. I have already commented in my travel stories of before that it is my impression that the Americans are, generally speaking, great patriots and they seem, more than any other nation in the world, to love to have their national flag displayed on their houses, estates or buildings. And that is quite alright.
Daniela and I also went to a locally very famous restaurant/hotel. This was the Red Lion Inn. Since it was autumn, the period of harvest and pumpkins, the access to the hotel was appropriately decorated.
Stockbridge, a detail
I usually do not write about hotels, but I did find this one quite interesting. As it is presumed, it all started in 1773 when the first inn in this place was founded and it was named “The Red Lion.” The spot was not chosen randomly for back then, as well as today, the Main Street in Stockbridge is a part of the main route between Albany, the capital of the state of New York, and Boston which is not only the capital of the state of Massachusetts, but also a very important port.
Over time, the building had additions made, but at the end of the 19th century the whole structure burned to the ground. Still, a new hotel was built again and opened already the following year. This is a rare hotel in the USA today that has been functioning with no interruptions since the 18th century and the last hotel from the 19th century that is still operating in the Berkshires region.
Stockbridge, a detail
The owners changed in time, but the spirit of the history, as well as the collections of different objects can still be seen at the hotel.
Stockbridge, a detail
After brief sightseeing around the hotel, Daniela and I just walked a little more along the main street for now we were ready to move on. I kept taking more photos of some details along the way, such as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, another picturesque house, as well as leaves of different colours that are omnipresent in this part of the USA.
Stockbridge, a detail
Stockbridge, a detail
Stockbridge, a detail
When I say that we moved on, here it actually happened that while leaving the centre of Stockbridge we noticed a board saying that the Berkshire Botanical Garden was only a few hundred metres from the crossroad where we were to turn northwards. We agreed on the spot to make a stop there.
The botanical garden is practically divided in two parts and this is done precisely by the road that led us here. First we went to buy the tickets, but as it turned out the entry was free on this day, so we then crossed the road and went to the larger section of the garden where there is a beautifully maintained lawn and numerous trees.
Berkshire Botanical Garden
At the very beginning of our walk we came across a pretty tree that simply invited to have its photo taken. But, in order to enjoy truly in its magnificence, it was necessary to have a reference object near it, like me. As it said at a label stuck to the tree, this is a cultivar of the Canadian or eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).
At the Berkshire Botanical Garden
Then we continued with our walk around the botanical garden, but it started to drizzle occasionally, so we did not stay in this part of the garden for too long, opting rather to return to the segment where the Visitor Centre was.
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
The Berkshire Botanical Garden is marketed as one of the venues where it is possible to organise weddings and other private parties, but the garden is also the place where regular art exhibitions are held, as well as different festivals, one of them being the Harvest Festival founded back in 1935. We were here right in this period.
Berkshire Botanical Garden
The segment of the botanical garden where the Visitor Centre is also holds other structures, as well as vegetable patches and glasshouses. We walked there briefly, too, because although it was not heavy, the rain was incessant by this time.
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Having finished with our visit to the Berkshire Botanical Garden, we got into the car and headed northwards or, to be more precise, we went to the town of Lenox. Before coming here, I planned for us to go for a short walk in nature, since I found a nice trail that also included a fine viewpoint, but although it stopped raining in the meantime, we decided not to go there, for the ground was bound to be wet and possibly muddy.
Still, we were driving through the Berkshires and the nature is beautiful here, even if only seen from the road.
On the road to Lenox