Tappahannock Travel Guide

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Downing Bridge, the gateway to the Northern Neck (from Tappahannock to Warsaw) changed the reliance on the river when the original opened in 1927. Until then, the only way to cross the Rappahannock was by ferry from either Tappahannock or Ware's Wharf. The present bridge was built in 1963. The bridge may have taken away the isolation that some in the Northern Neck enjoyed before the bridge was built. However, it brought tourism to the Northern Neck which replaced jobs lost when many of the fish processing plants closed and during slow years for crab potters and oystermen.

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This relatively recent tradition has allowed Tappahannock (a riverside town 40 miles, 66 km. northeast of Richmond) to shine every third Saturday in June since 2003. I had thought about going in 2005, but something had come up at the last minute. It came together this year when Jimmy Shaw brazilnut30 planned to go with my mama and me. Lee also planned to meet Jessi there before they went on to the Northern Neck. The website told us the traffic would be terrrible and recommended that we park in the Tappahannock Town Center parking lot to catch a shuttle bus (which happened to be an Essex County school bus) which goes back and forth from there to the Beale Church on Queen Street. (That was my first go of a school bus since round about 1985 when Lee was wee.) There were plenty of vendors that sold everything under the sun. There was also plenty of food from which to choose. If I hadn't had a cold or allergies, I would have splurged and eaten some local seafood, but Jimmy and I settled on a chili cheese hot dog and a corn dog respectively. There was also plenty of things for little children to do, like a play park and a mini train ride. I just knew Lee would enjoy all that if Jessi only gave him time to play. Before we met Lee, Jessi, and her mama, I had two unexpected encounters with people I knew. The first was from an old high school friend (Pete Trible) who has a law office in town. The second was with Carol Ware, my English teacher from 10th grade who remembered me after all these years. It was a really hot day, but it was a fun trip to a historic little town alongside the river.

Tappahannock is known as the gateway to the Northern Neck. In many ways, Tappahannock has more in common with the Northern Neck than many other towns on this side of the Rappahannock. Within an hour's drive of Tappahannock are the small towns in the Northern Neck, which, like Tappahannock, thrive on fishing and tourism. Points of interest in the Northern Neck include the houses on Cockrell Bay in Reedville, the historic towns of Lancaster and Warsaw, the birthplaces of both George Washington and Robert E. Lee in Westmoreland County. Locals stay there and people make holiday there because the Northern Neck seems a world away from Richmond, Norfolk, and Washington. The towns in the Northern Neck are so small, residents and holidaymakers have to go all the way to Tappahannock to shop at Wal-Mart or go to a movie.