my journey 45
southern Appalachians and links two eastern national parks: Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains. The Pissgah National Forest, in the Appalachian Mountains, signals our arrival into Asheville. On the edge of town we pass the Grand Bohemian Hotel, a Kessler property with the look of a luxurious hunting lodge. The 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate and Village, built between 1889 and 1895 by industrialist George Vanderbilt, is the largest private residential home in the country. We tour the house, with its gold-thread rare Flemish tapestries, Renoir paintings and many other priceless exhibits, and visit the USA’s most-visited winery. We enjoy a fabulous Southern-style buffet feast in the Deer Park restaurant and stop for awe-inspiring views of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the fi ve-star Inn on Biltmore Estate.
Asheville equals ‘artsville’ Long known for its stunning mountain location and
lively music venues and festivals, Asheville is now also drawing visitors to its blossoming arts and crafts scene and its thriving locally-brewed craft beers. You can fi nd both in the River Arts District, a cluster of transformed old industrial buildings close to the French Broad River. We take an evening tour aboard the La Zoom ‘Comedy
Bus’. Featuring jokes, skits, music and impromptu street side performers the 90-minute irreverent ‘history tour’ of Asheville includes plenty of laughs, gasps, the occasional scream and several ‘oh no, don’t pick on me’ moments. Heading back to Charlotte, we stop at Chimney Rock, a 1000-acre scenic attraction with hiking trails and a 404-foot waterfall located 25 miles southeast of Asheville and 20 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Scenes from a number of movies have been fi lmed in the park, most famously The Last of the Mohicans. Chimney Rock is also close to Lake Lure, an area that becomes a mountain playground in summer, with hiking, bird watching, fi shing (fl y, spinning, lake and river), rock climbing, skiing, shopping, swimming, boating and golf. We enjoy a round at the picturesque Rumbling Bald Resort, on one of two championship courses surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lake Lure has 21 miles of shoreline dotted with impressive private homes that hint at a grander past. We take a dinner cruise out onto the crystal-clear lake, and stop to photograph the lakefront gazebo which appeared in Dirty Dancing. It is now used for weddings. •
sellingtravel.co.uk
NASCAR Hall of fame
Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte
Rafting near Charlotte
The Blue Ridge Parkway Centre
‘ That’ water scene in Dirty Dnacing
How to book it Funway Holidays offers a 14-day ‘North Carolina Self-Drive Tour’ including accommodation, car rental and return international fl ights with American Airlines. Prices start from £1,299pp. This self-drive itinerary offers a complete North Carolina discovery experience, from the breathtaking vistas of the
Blue Ridge Parkway over the Smoky Mountains to the dramatic shoreline of North Carolina’s Outer Banks with its eventful history, seaside towns, pirate tales and home to the new Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center at the North Carolina
Aquarium on Roanoke Island.
Funway4agents.co.uk
Asheville’s River Arts District
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