Feature Articles

A new year, a new start. While some began the first day of the new year purging their homes of holiday decorations, or mapping out plans to achieve new goals and resolutions, or even recovering from antics of the night before, others stepped into the new year by walking...

by Tom Chillemi -  There is plenty of help available for Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck residents looking to improve their land with trees. For planting open land in the Rappahannock River watershed, it is probably best to check with the Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) about funding opportunities, advises Forester...

by Jackie Nunnery -  When guests enter Lottsburg’s Cygnets restaurant, 2816 Northumberland Highway, they immediately see the bones and character of Watkins General Store, circa 1921. The original wood floors, tin ceilings and shelving-lined walls provide a charming backdrop a century later; and like its retail predecessor, offers a welcoming...

This article was originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of The Rivah Visitor's Guide. by Tom Chillemi -  There is so much to see at the Gwynn’s Island Museum you will probably want to come back again and again. While walking on a Gwynn’s Island beach in the late 1970s, Jean...

by Larry Chowning -  Thomas Calhoun (T.C.) Walker was born an enslaved child in Gloucester County and died in 1953 having made an enormous impact on the future of African-Americans in Virginia and beyond. Born June 16, 1862, in a small cabin on a plantation in Gloucester, Walker was raised by...

The Chesapeake Bay area was once an under-the-radar destination for wine lovers. But over the past decade, there’s been an almost cult-like devotion to wineries in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula as the industry expands and the area offers one of the state’s premier wine trails.  In the past...

by Tom Chillemi -  Building a model boat from wood has many facets. Model builder Don Good of Mathews knows that. It’s a pastime that can take you away from the hum-drum of everyday life. “It’s therapeutic,” said Good. “It’s relaxing and challenging and it keeps me stimulated mentally.” Model building...

Story and photos by Jackie Nunnery - To say that there are a lot of seafood restaurants in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula would be an understatement. But one of the latest entries into the region, Bubba’s Shrimp Shack, stands out for its homemade approach to preparing seafood....

We asked. You voted. This is the 6th year of The Best of the Rivah Contest and once again, our readers let us know what makes the Rivah special!  From wineries to oysters, chicken to bait, art to ice cream and much, much more… you have chosen our area’s favorites. Thank...

by Tom Chillemi -  I push off from shore, breaking gravity’s bond. On a thin layer of water I float away from reality and into a magical world that humans can only visit. The instant my kayak floats I know I am “there,” where I want to be — free from...