Location

Olde Mill is located in Western Virginia less than 3 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. "America's Favorite Drive" - The Blue Ridge Parkway was conceived and designed as a scenic motor road and conservator of the natural and historical treasures of the Blue Ridge. Today, it is the most visited site in the National Park system. Olde Mill is sits in the heart of Carroll County. Part of the Tri County comprised of Carroll, Floyd County and Patrick County. These counties offer the charm of a traditional small town America with friendly smiling faces. Here you are never a visitor but a part of our family.

Olde Mill at 2700 feet elevation in the Blue Ridge Mountains enjoys four distinct seasons. For some the spectacular mountain fall color is the draw others the cool refreshing springs and mild summers. Families find Olde Mill's location a year round destination with the change in temperature from major cities like Charlotte and Raleigh, NC the reason to travel and move to the mountains. Others see the slower pace that still offers all of the shopping, restaurants and cultural appeal of bigger cities the reason to make the mountains home. A welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of city life the quiet atmosphere, beautiful scenery appeals to many families ready to make a change in their hectic way of life.

Olde Mill with easy drives to major cities - 1 hour to Winston-Salem and Greensboro, 2 hours to Charlotte, approximately 4 hours from Raleigh or 5 from Washington, DC has two local airports to choose from in planning your arrival and departures. Twin County Airport 25 miles and Mount Airy Airport 32 miles away.

Olde Mill is also convenient to an array of services. Twin County Regional Hospital earns distinction as having been named 2006-2007 Outstanding Rural Health Organization of the Year. So you can rest easier knowing quality healthcare is a community priority. Everything you need is right here in this breathtaking environment... the best of all possible worlds.

Hillsville

Just imagine starting your day with a hearty breakfast in a dining car in downtown Hillsville. Tour up to the northern part of Carroll County and take a leisurely canoe ride along the world's oldest river: the New River. If it's the Fall season, you might enjoy the most spectacular views along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Have a picnic while you're there. Finish your pleasant day in one of our many fine accommodations. Whether you're a lover of bed and breakfasts, or a national hotel fan, Carroll County offers you a good night's sleep.

But don't just stay for just one night. You'll never see, taste, hear, or experience ALL we have to offer in just one day!

Happiness In Hillsville

Hillsville! Hills. Yes. Village. Certainly, and in the best sense of the word. For 25 years I've had the pleasure of living, working and playing in this beautiful mountain community. There is a wonderful sense of community here that I haven't found anywhere else I've lived.

There are four distinct seasons, but they sometimes overlap when we still have winter in April. I remember one beautiful spring day in April several years ago turning cold and snowy, blocking interstate 77 and stranding hundreds of people. The motels filled up quickly and dozens of people had no where to go. I live on Main Street only a couple of miles from the interstate, just across the street form the Hillsville Presbyterian Church. My friend and neighbor, our pastor, and I ended up taking in those stranded folks, feeding them supper, cleaning out our blanket closets and food pantries, feeding them breakfast, and providing coffee most of the night. Those pews, although padded, just didn't offer the best nights sleep. The rescue squad got involved before everyone was safely off the interstate. We had people on oxygen; we had a Jewish couple who used the pastor's office for Friday night Shabbat; we had people from all over the country, but all of them, without a doubt, experienced that warm sense of mountain hospitality that night, just like all our visitors do, even in good weather.

When I visit family in Mt. Airy, NC, about 30 minutes south of Hillsville, and start back up the mountain, I am reminded again and again why I love it here, especially in the summers. As I ascend the winding highway 52 up Fancy Gap Mountain-the views are much better that route-taking the inside corners just to keep my old Volvo engine from slowing down, the air cools 10 degrees, just as predictably as day turns to night.

A real genteel southern lady from the Deep South rented the house next door to me for several summers. She once remarked in her Southern drawl "Muh Daddy always said that gahdens up heah grow so well because even in dry times, the dew keeps the plants wahtuhed." It is true, and true too that the cool nights and warm sunny days help the process, not to mention that I am rarely uncomfortable without air-conditioning. Don't own it, wouldn't have it!

Living on Main Street in a small town has an abundance of benefits. After I walk up town to the periodic beach music bash or safe Halloween event in the fall, I have the privilege of sitting on my front porch and listening to the crickets on a warm summer night or dressing up in a scary costume and handing out candy to the goblins making their way back home. The intersection of Highway 52 and 58 is a bustling place during the day, but once night falls, quietness is a welcomed visitor.

I've traveled all over the world (and love every place I've visited) but I never regret coming back home to drink in all the beauty that is only a walk or a short drive away. There are so many things to do near Hillsville: shopping, dancing, theatre, music, arts, hiking, backpacking, biking, canoeing, birding, horse back riding, and so many places to eat, that I am never hunger for entertainment. Sometimes I have to turn off my phone and take the dog for a walk through the Carter Pines just to re-energize. (I've always felt very safe alone on that trail and the nearby New River Trail State Park and Appalachian Trail.)

Once a year I throw caution to the wind, forget about quiet and solitude and just go out and get caught up in the most energetic, mind-boggling display of humanity and their "stuff" imaginable - the annual Labor Day Flea Market and Gun Show. For these 25 years I've watched the Flea Market wax and wane like the tides, but it has never disappointed me. At one of the high points in the economy there was reported to have been more than 500,000 people participating from Friday morning at 6:00am through the following Monday evening. Not sure how they count that, but the pictures I took proved it to me. Why, I counted 100,000 people walking by my house from their parking spaces in every yard in the neighborhood. (We have artistic license here in the mountains to spin a yarn, by the way.) If it can be imagined, it can be had at the Flea Market and all within a couple of miles east, west, north and south. By Tuesday morning the traffic is gone, along with the trash, and only a tent or two dotted in the otherwise cow pasture lets you know that our quiet little town was temporarily a metropolitan shopping center.

Ya'll come on up and see for yourself. You won't be sorry.

One of the most overlooked benefits of visiting rural areas is the lack of modern noise pollution. When was the last time you spent 30 minutes in a space where the only sounds were the sounds of nature? Fifteen minutes? Five minutes? We are all surrounded today by a bombardment of sound pollution. Cars, sirens, power tools, planes, appliances, televisions, radios, neighbors. Our auditory senses are constantly engaged. Take one minute; close your eyes and actively listen to the sounds around you. Try to count the number of discreet sounds that reach your ears in one minute that are not made by nature. Run out of fingers and toes?

Like our ears, our other senses, too, are continuously assaulted by everyday life. Our eyes are filled with rapid fire, highly stimulating images on the freeways, on our televisions, at our workplaces, and our restaurants are ablaze with eye catching decor and flat screen TVs. Our noses are more likely to be treated to diesel exhaust than the fragrance of a pine forest.

Now imagine a long weekend. The only sounds are the voices of your loved ones, a hawk's call, the trees swaying in a light breeze, the crunch of your boot on a mountain path, the unmistakable warning blow of breath from a nearby deer. See yourself approaching a cabin beckoning you - standing golden in the sun. Green pastures broken only by timberlines and livestock. A sea of mountain ridges reaching out over the horizon in countless numbers. Imagine long walks, simple meals, good books, the heady scent of fir trees mingled with hay fields and fresh air.

The net affect on the body, mind and psyche is nothing short of miraculous. The heart and respiration rates slow to an easy rhythm. Blood pressure lowers. The mind discovers the freedom to contemplate, muse, learn, and create. This is truly re-creation in every sense of the word.

No matter what your interests, come pursue them in the Plateau and discover yourself again. Share the experience with those you love. It's a gift that can be life altering. Perfect getaway.