Irvington, Virginia: A Perfect Escape

A cruise on slow-moving Carters Creek is just one of Irvington, Virginia's many pastoral pleasures.

PHOTO: Kristen Beckerman

In a world of over-the-top vacation destinations, where it takes far too much energy to keep up with the Joneses, Irvington, Virginia, is a breath of fresh, slowly exhaled air. With its Mayberry-meets-Manhattan appeal, this town of 673 residents on Virginia's Northern Neck, about ninety miles south of Washington, D.C., has enough stylish offerings to keep citified travelers sated.

Located on the banks of dozy Carters Creek, which feeds into the nearby Rappahannock River (pronounced RIV-ah in the region's sultry Southern vernacular), Irvington has emerged as one of the mid-Atlantic's most desirable getaways, capturing the attention of New Yorkers and Washingtonians in search of a rural waterfront refuge. Here, Chris-Crafts are as common as herons along the shore, and the local fleet of Flying Scots as plentiful as ospreys.

The appeal of this waterman's town, where landed gentry peacefully cohabit with agrarians and artists, is its pocket of sophisticated attractions. Much like an exclusive Caribbean island, Irvington has roughly two varieties of every amenity found on a well-heeled traveler's must-have list.

A refurbished 19th-century schoolhouse, the charming Hope and Glory Inn (800-497-8228; hopeandglory.com) is awash in English-country-house elegance, complete with lush gardens that front the six petite cottages set amid its rear acreage.

The Tides Inn (800-843-3746; tidesinn.com), established in 1947, is one of the South's best-known resorts, with 106 rooms (almost all with water views), a full-service spa, three restaurants, a pool, a golf course, tennis courts and a marina.

Visitors and locals indulge in retail therapy along Irvington Avenue, where a handful of picket-fence-hemmed boutiques include the fashion-forward Avolon (804-438-6793; shopavolon.com) and the prepster haven Khakis (804-438-6779; khakisofirvington.com). Gourmet fare with a Virginia drawl fills the menus at Trick Dog Cafe (804-438-1055; trickdogcafe.com) and Swank's on Main (804-436-1010; swanksonmain.com), located in the nearby hamlet of Kilmarnock.

Sailors, meanwhile, might opt for a sunset cocktail cruise aboard the Tides Inn's historic 127-foot yacht, Miss Ann, or the Hope and Glory's forty-two-foot deadrise, Faded Glory.

And wine lovers can tour the six-acre White Fences Vineyard & Winery (804-438-5559; irvingtonstomp.com), its entrance marked by soaring Claes Oldenburg–esque corkscrews. Grab an outdoor table at the Wine Stand—the gift shop and tasting room where White Fences' award-winning Meteor wines are sold—and toast a weekend well spent.