The Oatlands Plantation located on Route 15, Leesburg, VA would not have become what it is today if it was not for the enslaved people back then who had lived and worked there for Mr George Carter and his family. The Carters family became the largest slave owners in the Loudon County in 1860 and if you are curious how they lived back then, chartering a VA bus to the plantation with your family for a day’s trip would definitely be a fantastic idea.
Upon arriving at the plantation, VA charter bus visitors will be taken to the Carriage House Gift Shop to buy the tickets for the tour. In the Gift Shop, they have varieties of souvenirs and memorabilia that you can purchase as you buy your tickets or after you are done touring the grounds. It would be better to make the gift purchases after the tour so that you don’t have to be carrying your items as you walk around the grounds. They also have available decorative garden items for you to buy and bring home to make your own garden more attractive and appealing.
After you have bought your tickets, you and your family members will be treated to guided tours in the mansion, but the guided tours are only for the first floor of the Oatlands mansion where they will share with visitors on the lives of the Carters and the history of the mansion. The guided tour would normally take about half an hour to forty five minutes and then you are encouraged to check out the second floor of the mansion on your own. They have put up information that will tell you the use of the rooms and the things that are placed inside the rooms. Do keep in mind that the mansion was built in 1804, hence, the mansion is not air-conditioned at all, so if you are going there with your family on a hot day, be sure to be appropriately dressed, so that you won’t feel hot and sweaty after touring the mansion. Or if you want, you can also bring along with you a small portable handheld fan to keep yourself cool during the tour in the mansion.
After having toured the mansion, make your way out to the gardens and enjoy the scenic view of the gardens and the majestic view of the mountains right on the front porch of the mansion. And remember to drop by the Carriage House Gift Shop before you make your way home in your VA chartered bus.
