We decided it would be nice to spend Valentines at a Bed and Breakfast in the Shenandoah Valley. In searching for the best place, we found the web site for Smithfield Farm Bed and Breakfast. It was unique because of its age, and the fact that it is a working farm. Having grown up in the mid west on a farm it appealed to me to be able to spend some time just walking around and seeing the animals as well has having a private and romantic experience.
When I called the manager was very gracious and explained that in the winter, they generally only open one guest cottage unless it is for a large group, but we were in luck they had a last minute cancellation on the cottage for Valentines. I asked about places for Dinner in the area, and the manager gave us several recomendations. I was able to make a reservation at a new restaurant in Berryville, which is only a few miles from the B&B.
Our arrival was almost overwhelming, driving down a long driveway with an apple orchard on both sides and driving up to a wonderful old Manor House. The proprieter came out and greeted us, walked us to the cottage and showed us all of the features and amenities. It was charming and even nicer than we had expected. She let us know that she was available to assist us if we needed anything. I asked if we might look around the farm the next morning, and she arranged to give us a tour to show us the cattle and other live stock as well as the new building that was going on.

The evening and morning were great, it would be a wonderful place to go in the summer to relax in the Shenandoah valley or especially for a weekend in the fall when the leaves are out. I know that we will go back.

When we turned between the stone pillars onto the driveway flanked by apple trees, we felt as though we were entering another world and leaving the hustle and bustle of life behind us. There were deer and cattle grazing in the orchard, and coming over the last rise, the stunning red brick "main house" and its two dependency buildings stood glowing in the afternoon sunshine, seeming to welcome us.

The Bed and Breakfast is not generally open in December, but the innkeepers, Ruth and Betsy, were able to make an exception for us for an after-Christmas getaway. They greeted us warmly, made us feel at home, and answered all our questions. The farm is lovely, and we had a wonderful walk around the property to see the fish pond and gazebo, the burbling creek and stone bridge, and the apple orchard. We spent two very restful nights in the spacious Wellford room with our own bath and awakened in the morning to the gentle sounds of the cattle lowing in the field.

Breakfast was outstanding: several delicious, freshly made courses each day served on pretty china. My husband especially enjoyed the ham from the farm's pigs. The hospitality was gracious and attentive without being intrusive, and the house was beautifully but comfortably decorated and impeccably clean. We went home with a cooler of homemade pasta and sauce, frozen meats and eggs fresh from the farm store, which we thoroughly enjoyed as a reminder of our relaxing trip. Another visit to Smithfield Farm B&B in the spring when the apple trees are blooming would be wonderful!

This was one of the best B+B experiences I have ever had. I recommend looking at their website (it's the first two words in the name of the place, dot com) because it shows how beautiful everything is.

The property: It's a working farm that the owners' family has run for generations. The farm itself is beautiful - rolling hills, apple orchards, herds of cows and sheep and pigs. We spent a good hour tossing fallen apples over the fence so the cows could munch on them. There's a stream, and different paths you can walk. And at night it's completely quiet except for the animal sounds.

Rooms: The rooms are in the 200-year-old farmhouse, which is in the National Register of Historic Places. But unlike what I've heard about a lot of places in the region, the building is in pristine condition and completely up to date. Our room was enormous with a (perfectly firm) king four-post bed and a fireplace and huge windows. We picked a room with its own private bath across the hall, because of the king bed (the other room available that night has an en-suite bath but a queen bed). I thought I might mind crossing the hall, but they provide these fantastic comfy (and again, pristine) robes and slippers, so you can just pad across the hall and take a bath in the 100-year-old clawfoot tub or in the fantastic hot shower. Since there are only two other rooms on that floor (the fourth is in a separate building), no one was ever around when we walked out. We peeked at the other rooms in the main house and they were all great.

Food: Breakfast was delicious, with about 6 different items, all homemade and including ingredients from the farm like fresh apples and blueberries.

Hosts: Ruth was incredibly nice and helpful and made us feel comfortable without feeling like we were intruding in someone else's space, which some B+Bs can feel like. There are nice touches all over, like fancy chocolates in the hallway. And Ruth's advice re: dinner restaurants was honest and accurate.

Location: We were visiting Harper's Ferry and all the inns there were full. It turns out this place is only about 15 minutes away, and great as a base for the region.

About an hour from metropolitan D.C. -- yet a world away! Admittedly, it is not easy to find this B&B, off a series of winding, one-lane country roads. But it is worth any effort, especially for the city-weary. Located on a 400-acre working farm, innkeeper Ruth Pritchard and her daughter spent the better part of a decade painstakingly restoring the original plantation house that has been in the family for eight generations. From the sign on the road, it's over a half-mile to the house, beyond endless apple orchards, grazing cattle and sheep, past a creek with a couple of wrought-iron chairs set invitingly on the banks. Once checked in, my husband and I took our bottle of wine down to the spot by the creek, kicked off our shoes, and lazily sipped and slid into the standstill simplicity of the place, while butterflies floated overhead and deer browsed just yards from us. Heaven. Our blue-themed room (The Wellford) featured a king canopy bed, tall windows, and TWO working gas fireplaces -- one in the bedroom and one in the spacious bathroom, with its clawfoot tub and separate stall shower. No TV set in any of the three guest rooms (there is one in the downstairs parlor) but it would have been sacrilege to switch it on anyway. Breakfast is sublime: fresh eggs from the farm, sausage or bacon from their own pigs, fruit compote with fresh-picked peaches, plums and cherries, applesauce that was hanging on a tree two hours earlier. Everything raised or grown on the farm is organic, free of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and preservatives, and many of their natural products are available for purchase at the "store" next to the main house. (The small, two-story brick building was originally the farm's schoolhouse. A sister structure on the other side of the main house, once the summer kitchen and servants' quarters, is now guest lodging.) Sitting on the porch at night, the black sky is bedazzled with stars, the only glitter in this unspolied land. Truly a languid journey back in time -- and one not to be missed. Ditch the city bustle and GO for an idyllic respite from modern life!