Category Archives: Chesapeake Bay

Culpeper & Middle Peninsula

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Gwynn's Island #2

An Osprey flies in the air at Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve.


Osprey
The small preserve along the Chesapeake Bay is the home to more than 185 species of birds.

Ospreys
There appeared to be two juveniles in the nest. The two parents stayed close by.

Ospreys

Ospreys

Ospreys

Ospreys

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve

Bethel Preserve
I tried to run on the roads near the preserve, but the bugs were bitting

Patriotic Culpeper
This was the second time we ran into this trio. For the Washington Va., Jingle bell run, they were a Grinch and two whos. Photo by Col.

Wind Resistance
The organizers of Culpeper race put together a well-run event.

Culpeper
The somewhat hilly course went through neighborhoods near downtown and the Yowell Meadow Park.

Car Show
The July 4th festivities in Culpeper included a car show. Photo by Col.

Culpeper
There was a parade and craft fair scheduled for later in the day, but our time was limited.

Culpeper
Photo by Col

The Frost Cafe
A hopping place on the 4th.

Go Figure....
Photo by Col

Deltaville 5K
Down the homestretch of the kids' race.

Deltaville 5K
Start of actual 5K. There were about 300 runners.

Deltaville 5K
We're on candid drone camera.

Deltaville 5K
The run went through the main drag in the small town and into a few neighborhoods. The turnaround was on a dock.

Deltaville 5K
After the race, you could check your time and place right away on laptops.

Lodging
We stayed at the Deltaville Dockside Inn and soaked in the small pool.

Pinto!
We spotted this in the town of Urbanna. The owner said it had 700k on it. He bought in 1977 for $3,200.

The Lansdowne
The house in Urbanna was built around 1740. It was the home of Arthur Lee, a physician and opponent of slavery. He served as an American diplomat during the American Revolutionary War.

Mathews
It was named the coolest smallest town in the U.S. in 2013, but lost the title to Berlin, Md., in 2014.

Mathews
Thread in one of the antique stores.

Mathews
Marbles in one of the antique stores.

Mathews
Linda's Diner was a nice place for a late lunch.

Deltaville Ballpark
It was built in 1948. The fans in the wooden stands are protected from foul balls by crab pot wire fencing.

Deltaville Ballpark
The Deltas were taking on the Hampton Roads Hurricanes in a Southern Virginia Adult Baseball League contest. Some of the Delta members play for VCU. They were winning when we left.

Lighthouse View
You can see the New Point Comfort Lighthouse from New Point Comfort Preserve.

Comfort Preserve
The preserve had a boat ramp and a wooden walkway going over part of the inlet.

Comfort Preserve

Comfort Preserve

Comfort Preserve

Comfort Preserve

Gwynn's Island
We manage to find this small beach at the RV Resort.

Gwynn's Island #2

Gwynn's Island
Some of the RVs seemed to be rather substantial, with full decks built on to the structures.

Gwynn's Island
The island is located in the northeast part of Mathews County, south of the mouth of the Piankatank River.

Gwynn's Island
The last royal governor of Virginia lived on the island after getting booted from Norfolk. He left in the summer of 1776.


If you want to go to the beach on the Middle Peninsula, either bring a boat or make friends with a bayfront land owner. Finding public access by car is pretty much impossible.

The area along the Chesapeake is sandwiched between the Northern Neck and Tidewater, with the Rappahanock River to the north and the York River to the south.

We tried to find beach access at Sting Ray Point outside of Deltaville, but were blocked by private homes. In the town of Urbanna, we slurped down some of the area’s famous oysters and walked along the piers. But no beach.

Outside of the town of Mathews, the grassy New Point Comfort Preserve provided a view of the New Point Lighthouse, but the only way to get to sand was by boat. We did manage to sneak on to a RV park on Gwynn’s Island and get our feet wet on 50 yards of beach.

On our final day of the trip, I hit the jackpot when I got up before dawn and went to the Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve. I ran around a small beach as a half dozen people fished, and then went back and took a bunch of photos of an osprey nest.

On the middle day of our trip, we ran in a 5K in Deltaville. While the boating community is relatively quiet on the 4th, it draws huge crowds for its fall oyster festival.

Before driving to the Middle Peninsula, we started the weekend with a stop in Culpeper. I ran in a very well-organized 5K. We also strolled through what I think was the fifth car show we’ve run into in the last couple of months and ate at the world-famous Frost Cafe.

88 runs down, 46 to go.