Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg is situated midway between Washington DC and Richmond - established in the early 18th century it has a historic downtown area, on the banks of the Rapahannock River.

Today, instead of speeding past on the i-95 as we normally do, we had a little time to stop and explore.



David was very taken with this fully restored brick house dating back to 1776.  It was a cool $1.5m but beautiful.. and large.

There were many other lovely old houses..

I particularly liked the arch supporting the steps here.

The Baptist Church caught my eye - partly I think because the spire is so similar to Beechen Cliff in Bath.

Fredericksburg was the site of terrible battles during the Civil War including the one commemorated here ..

The text at the foot of the wall is the wording of a letter sent from Abraham Lincoln to a woman who had lost five sons to the war.  The tragedy is almost unimaginable.

On a lighter note, the Rapahannock River was beautiful in the sunshine and several paddleboarders were out on the water and making the most of it