PHOTO : wib middleton
PHOTO : Tom Lussier , courtesy of Visit Loudoun
Top : Waterford ’ s 200-yearold Corner Store offers kitchen baskets of farm fresh fruits and vegetables to CSA members ; below : sensational cuisine from farm-to-table Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville . rigorous programs , especially in the sciences .
Outstanding farm-to-table restaurants numbering more than a dozen are sprinkled throughout the region , enticing local fans and adventurous foodies from Washington and beyond . Even during this year ’ s unanticipated and unfortunate COVID-19 emergency , most of these restaurants have continued to offer their fresh-andlocal menus to loyal customers on a take-out basis . Additionally , numerous CSAs ( Community Supported Agriculture ) offer weekly pickup of fresh vegetables , fruit , meat and poultry to subscribing customers . Other notable offerings — and not just locally — are annual crowd pleasing fairs and events , such as the widely renowned Waterford Fair , the Lovettsville Oktoberfest , the Bluemont Fair and the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show .
As wonderful as these rural amenities are — and as effective as the land-use tools of planning , zoning , and conservation easements on rural properties have been in protecting rural properties throughout the RPA — this precious region remains vulnerable to ongoing pressures for suburbanstyle development . Furthermore , not all parts of the RPA are equally preserved . The northern half that is bordered on the south by Route 7 , known by County planners as AR-1 , is far more vulnerable to suburbanization than AR-2 , the southern half which extends southward from Route 7 to Route 50 , Loudoun ’ s boundary with Fauquier County .
Many activist organizations in the 50-member Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition are working hard to preserve this gem of the RPA . Among them are the Land Trust of Virginia , the Piedmont Environmental Council , and Save Rural Loudoun , to name just a few .
For a brief period in the 1990s , Loudoun County supported a Purchase of Development Rights ( PDR ) program , offering property owners monetary compensation for relinquishing their rights to develop their lands . However , political pressures in the early 2000s resulted in termination of the program , leaving the voluntary measures described as the best available options in Loudoun ’ s land preservation toolbox .
The very best advocates for preserving western Loudoun ’ s character and bountiful gifts , however , are those who live in it , those who visit it , and those who spread the good news about it . The creators of WANDER are proud to add its name to the RPA ’ s list of champions . By sharing the voices , stories , ideas and compelling images of this beautiful land , we hope many more will fall in love with rural Loudoun and become its champions , too .
And now , dear reader , we kindly invite you to read on .
Pamela Lane Baldwin owns WeatherLea Farm in Lovettsville , which she and her late husband Malcolm Baldwin purchased in 1993 . She and her daughter and son-in-law , Rebecca and Jeffrey Fuller , help tend their small grape vineyard for Walsh Family Wine and a flock of sheep , host weddings in their lovely outdoor spaces and their 19thcentury barn , and welcome overnight guests at their intimate B & B called Shepherd ’ s Cottage . Before retiring to the farm , Pamela was a Foreign Service Officer with USAID .
wander I fall • winter 2020 7