“A ripple of land; such little hills, the sky
Can stoop to tenderly and the wheatfields climb;
Such nooks of valleys, lined with orchises,
Fed full of noises by invisible streams;
And open pastures, where you scarcely tell
White daisies from white dew, - at intervals
The mythic oaks and elm-trees standing out
Self-poised upon their prodigy of shade, -”

It may have been the 1850’s when English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning penned these lines as part of her “The Herefordshire Landscape,” but the words go far in describing the scene Sunday at Oatlands Historic House and Plantation, several miles south of downtown Leesburg.

Fourteen carriages toured the famed grounds, circling the mansion and roaming five miles along the outskirts of the property. Dubbed “Old-Fashioned Day,” some 100 visitors made their way the National Trust Historic Site and took comfort in the sun and the serenity of a simpler time.

Members of the Piedmont Driving Club and the Shenandoah Carriage Company donned classic countryside dress as they commanded one- and two-hand coaches through the brilliant green hills.

Established in the early 19th century by George Carter, a member of Virginia’s upper-class, Oatlands was a thriving wheat plantation and base for numerous business enterprises until the Civil War. During most of the 20th century Oatlands was the country estate of Mr. and Mrs. William Corcoran Eustis, “affluent Washingtonians with strong ties to the American political arena,” according to Oatlands officials.

Oatlands is in the midst of more concerted effort to market the site and open the grounds to a wider variety of events.

Members of the Piedmont Driving Club and the Shenandoah Carriage Company donned countryside dress as they commanded one- and two-hand coaches in front of the famed Oatlands mansion. Times-Mirror Photo/Trevor Baratko

More than 20 horses pulled carriages, some new and other restored, around the Loudoun County National Historic Trust site Sunday. Times-Mirror Photo/Trevor Baratko