Hiking at Ayr Mount

• Date we visited: 1/26/2020
• Posted length: 1 mile
• Total miles Walked: 1.45 miles
• Type of Trail:  Walking path/crush
• Conveniences:  Parking
• Best Features:  River views, sweeping landscapes, benches, history
• Worst Features:  gates close early, no bathrooms
• Wildlife spotted:  None at this visit.
• Vegetation:  Fern, crocus, daffodils, pine, cedar, native hardwoods
• Associated Website: https://classicalamericanhomes.org/ayr-mount/

On a sunny Sunday afternoon we went to Ayr Mount and walked the Poet’s walk, a 1 mile loop around the property. While tours of the house are only offered certian times throughout the year, the grounds are available for anyone to enjoy without an entry fee. The Poet’s walk is one of Hillsborough's hidden gems.

The parking lot is generous and there were many people out walking the grounds. We headed to the right of the house past the private cemetery. There's a small seating area and picnic tables for folks to enjoy the grounds, then the trail drops down, heading towards the river. Just before you enter the woods, you have the option to cut over towards the pond

The trail is lined with fences made from fallen branches.

While many people utilize the poet’s walk for exercise, there are numerous places to sit and contemplate your surroundings.

You can look across the river and see one of the trails at the Historic Occoneechee Speedway.  There are plans to connect the two properties in the future as well.

Along the path there were ferns, squill and crocus popping out of the ground.  Daffodils, scammed by the unseasonably warm January, were also beginning to sprout.

As you leave the river and exit the woods, the pond comes into view.

During the hot summer months, they place a cooler of water for those on the Poet’s walk.

As we looped back to the house, you can see the depression from the old trading path, and a Little Free Library.  If only we had some books to add!

The Poet’s Walk at Ayr Mount is the perfect length for a quick walk.  But don’t forget to take in the serenity and the beauty that this property has.  Take a moment and sit on one of the benches and listen to the Eno bubble by, or the wind slip though the willows.

#hillsborough
#arymount
#poetswalk
#walking