The minute I lay eyes on the intimate saltwater pool just steps from our private cottage at the Hope and Glory Inn, I feel the urge to submerge. For me, that pool encapsulates the allure of Virginia’s newly branded River Realm, a coastal area comprising some 500 miles of shoreline along the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay. The entire region is a nexus of relaxation and self-care with a generous dash of salinity.
Or maybe I should call it Virginia’s “Rivah” Realm, which is how I so often heard the word genteelly pronounced when I lived in Richmond decades ago. The elegant Tides Inn in Irvington may be the best-known landmark in these parts, but the small towns of Kilmarnock, Urbanna, Deltaville, White Stone, Topping, Lively, Saluda and Tappahannock are also prime places to play in and around the water while enjoying a Southern taste of the good life.
Alas, the weather gods weren’t cooperating at the start of my visit in the summer of 2024. Hurricane Debby was reduced to a tropical storm by the time my husband, Pete, and I began the three-hour drive south from Arlington, but she was still winging it up the mid-Atlantic, and experienced watermen weren’t tempting fate by going out. No matter. We still found plenty of ways to savor the salt air and the bay’s abundance on land.
On the day we roll into Irvington, it’s evident that small businesses are booming. Many older structures have been given new life in the post-pandemic economy. There’s a vibey exuberance about town, despite the rain.
“More younger people are moving here. [They] can work remotely, and the small town becomes a very appealing alternative for family life,” says Dudley Patteson, co-proprietor of the Hope and Glory Inn, a boutique hotel occupying a refurbished 1890 schoolhouse. He and his wife, Peggy, bought the place 20 years ago and transformed it into a bed and breakfast surrounded by lush gardens, standalone cottages and unique amenities such as a private outdoor garden bath with a clawfoot tub.
Many of the young business owners who now make up the town’s fabric grew up visiting the area and have family hereabouts. “We didn’t necessarily set out to open a gourmet convenience market,” says Livi Justis Harlow, whose namesake Livi’s Market, tucked inside a former gas station, stocks everything from wine, cheese and cocktail bitters to sunscreen. During the pandemic, she and her husband, Tom, both Richmond natives, “hunkered down and didn’t want to leave.” They opened their business in 2023.
“Irvington has such charm,” she says. “You walk out down the street and everyone waves. There’s a strong sense of community. We wanted to contribute to that.”
Kristy Cotter, owner of the Richmond clothing boutique Dear Neighbor, has a similar transplant story. She opened an outpost of her shop in the town’s former Odd Fellows Lodge after moving here with her family during Covid so that her young son had a place to run around. Cotter invites her customers “to dress up and try on things that make them feel special.”
And yet, many longstanding traditions also remain. At the 76-year-old RAL (Rappahannock Art League) Art Center, a cooperative space showcasing ceramics, jewelry, paintings and fiber works by more than 50 juried artists, I find myself wishing I had a cozy waterside cottage to decorate. That fantasy continues as we peek inside the Tiles Projects, a design studio and showroom specializing in gorgeous custom designed tiles for kitchen and bath.
Hopping from town to town, we hear the term “merroir”—the water version of terroir—used to denote the realm’s riverine products. The salinity of local waterways produces a bounty of seafood, which in turn has inspired a thriving culinary community. Hope and Glory’s Ethiopian-born chef, Meseret Crockett, has taken the art to another level by creating what might be the world’s first dessert oyster. She tops a raw bivalve with a dollop of house-made lime sorbet infused with mint, adds a squeeze of lime juice, and finishes it with dill.
“The flavors of that oyster just pop in your mouth,” a battle between salty and sweet, Patteson says.
By day three of our visit, the skies have calmed and we finally get out on the water in a Carolina skiff with Will Smiley, the resident ecologist at the nearby Tides Inn complex. The purpose of our excursion is to learn more about the riches of these brackish waterways—specifically the oysters and blue crabs whose populations are still recovering from decades of overharvesting and poor bay health.
On Carter’s Creek, Smiley pulls up a crab pot and measures the “beautiful swimmers” (a translation of their Greek name’s origin) to make sure they meet the legal standard for harvesting. Noting the affirmative, he scoots us to a nearby dock, where the crabs are soon steaming and then generously sprinkled with Old Bay. As a novice picker, I heed Smiley’s advice on how best to extract their succulent flesh.
Smiley offers an equally popular Chesapeake Gold tour centering on oyster restoration efforts. “We take recycled oyster shells from restaurants and resorts,” he explains, pointing to stacks of bags filled with shells. “Then we put them in that big tank and release swimming baby oysters [larvae from a local hatchery] into the tank, and they connect to the shells.” Once attached to their new homes, the young oysters are known as spat. The spat are introduced to various sections of the creek to grow in submerged cages.
Oysters play a critical role in balancing the local ecosystem, he explains. They feed by filtering water and extracting algae and other microscopic particles that would otherwise proliferate and block sunlight from reaching the underwater grass beds where blue crabs thrive. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.
In short: More oysters mean better bay health and a higher crab population. The Tides Inn is doing its part by maintaining a restored living shoreline peppered with sunken cages filled with spat.
Our trip also includes a stop at the weekend farmers market in Urbanna, where Mayor William Goldsmith urges us to check out the famous 1755 “Mitchell Map” on display inside the James Mills Scottish Factor Store, once a hub for the tobacco trade and now a visitors center. It was “the go-to map for centuries,” Goldsmith says, adding that Urbanna was “one of the original colonial port towns.”
Created in 1750 by John Mitchell, a local physician, the map was later used during the 1783 Treaty of Paris to define the boundaries of the newly independent United States—and reportedly helped resolve a fishing rights dispute as recently as the 1980s. Like the Library of Congress and British Museum, the town has its own impressive first edition.
Nowadays Urbanna is best known for its fall oyster festival, which attracts more than 50,000 connoisseurs annually for a shellfish-themed parade, an oyster-shucking contest and myriad ways to eat these sweet and briny sea creatures—maybe even for dessert. Gotta love that small-town ingenuity.
Where to Eat, Drink & Stay
Irvington’s Hope and Glory Inn offers 13 enchantingly decorated rooms and cottages (some of the headboards resemble birdhouses or picket fences), with breakfast delivered every morning, plus a saltwater pool. The property’s elegant Colonnade restaurant is a must for Chef Meseret’s vichyssoise, crab cakes and chocolate ganache brownie, and the front yard is home to a popular micro-vineyard and oyster bar.
Situated along the banks of a Rappahannock tributary, the Tides Inn offers a sandy beach, a large pool and river paddleboarding or kayaking. Its Salt & Meadow restaurant is a picturesque spot for upscale cuisine showcasing locally sourced fare. Camp Irvington is a place to chillax around fire pits with live music, beer, wine and small bites.
If you’re traveling with a group, check out Rosegill an 18th-century former plantation with five bedrooms on 700 acres near Urbanna. Kilmarnock Inn has charming rooms and private cottages named after the eight U.S. presidents born in Virginia.
In Deltaville, the casual Table at Wilton emphasizes fresh, local ingredients such as softshell crabs and fried fish sandwiches. In Topping, slurp local oysters at Rappahannock Oyster Co.’s Merrior, a laid-back eatery with indoor and outdoor seating.
If you forget to make a reservation at Adrift Restaurant in White Stone—it’s usually packed—grab a seat at the bar to enjoy dishes such as rockfish cakes or lamb sausage with local clams.
Don’t be deceived by the looks of the Car Wash Café in Kilmarnock, a local brunch favorite for omelets and pancakes housed in a former car wash and 7-Eleven. Dig into lobster rolls and burgers at Small Town Burger, a food truck enterprise with permanent parked locations in Kilmarnock and Urbanna.
Where to Shop
Aquatic wonders notwithstanding, Virginia’s River Realm is worth a visit for its boutiques. August Table in White Stone designs and stocks beautiful, patterned linens, towels, wallcoverings and other home goods. At Pointe Provisions, the merch includes rustic and vintage-style home décor, local art and a nice children’s section.
In Irvington, find stylish clothing, gifts and accessories at The Dandelion, Dear Neighbor and Sweet Tea. Peruse nautical arts at Objects Art Gallery and hit up Urbanna Trading Company in Urbanna for provisions ranging from wine and charcuterie to jewelry.
Find the perfect gift or a bright summer dress at The Rivah in Kilmarnock. If you’re looking to give your home a refresh, don’t miss the RAL Arts Center for original artworks, and the Tiles Projects for bespoke tiles and throw pillows.
Where to Play
Take a heritage tour with a local waterman to learn more about the region’s aquaculture, or connect with Tides Inn ecologist Will Smiley for an educational outing that includes delicious seafood tastings. In addition, the Tides Inn’s resident horticulturalist leads birding, wildflower and honey bee excursions.
Urbanna’s kayak trail has 26 stops, including beaches, former ferry landings and coves. Take a three-hour daytime or sunset sail on a catamaran with Nauti Cat, or rent a paddleboard or kayak from Paddle On’s walk-up kiosks and follow their suggested launch points.
Kilmarnock hosts an outdoor summer concert series, Music on the Half Shell, with on-site food trucks and beverage vendors. The Urbanna Oyster Festival, scheduled for Nov. 7-8 this year, is a shuckfest of local bivalves, plus craft beer and wine tastings and children’s activities.
Visit virginiasriverrealm.com for more ideas on places to stay, experience and explore around Essex, Lancaster and Middlesex counties.
Arlington travel writer Amy Brecount White enjoys diving into any water-based exploration and appreciates the mid-Atlantic’s ample offerings.