Visiting Jamestown
Sunday, December 26th, 2010If you’re visiting Virginia Beach you definitely need to plan time to visit nearby historic Jamestown situated on the banks of the James River. The site was home to the first permanent English settlement in North America and it is where Captain John Smith and Pocahontas walked. In the two hundred years following the arrival of the English, the island landscape evolved from a seat of government to large plantations owned by the Ambler and Travis families. From the island’s rim, Confederate forts guarded the river channel during the Civil War. Today, the Island Drive affords views of the island, James River, the marshlands, and regenerating forest. Jamestown can be explored in any number of ways. The three/five mile island loop drive of the island can be walked, ran, or biked and nature lovers will enjoy the wide assortment of species to be found like the bald eagle, raccoon, opossum, red tail fox, and mink (many of whom had ancestors who no doubt provided pelts for warmth to the early settlers). The park’s guided tours focus on America’s beginnings and visitors can learn (more…)