Fuel up before or after your farmyard fun with a classic country breakfast or hearty lunch at The Olde Bakery Café, pub fare favourites at Upper Thames Brewing Company’s Brickhouse Brewpub or delicious Italian classics at Fat Olive.
Keep the farm fun going with an overnight stay at the Ontario’s Southwest 2022 Sustainability Trailblazer of the Year Award winning Jireh Hills Homestead’s comfortable glamping trailer and enjoy add-on homestead activities like soap and cheese-making classes. If you’d prefer to stay at a hotel, Woodstock’s Best Western Plus Inn and Suites and Strathroy's Holiday Inn Express are both very comfortable options.
Rural Retreat #3: Breathe It All In
If you’re looking for a few days of sensational solitude, that can easily be arranged!
- Stow your phone in a locker and sink into Terra Nova Nordic Spa’s relaxing thermal experience. The spa’s circuit features a wood-fired sauna, eucalyptus steam room, hot pool and chilling stations, as well as spaces to relax lounging by a campfire, on the patio or in a geodesic dome.
- Experience ultimate relaxation at Wave Nordic Spa, where the soothing combination of hot, cold, and rest therapies rejuvenates both body and mind in a serene, natural setting.
- Enjoy a private film or art viewing courtesy of your car by watching a movie at The Mustang Drive-In, or taking in the eye-catching collection of folk art that makes up the North Middlesex Barn Quilt Trail.
- Hike the ten kilometres of quiet nature trails that meander through forests and ravines at Longwoods Road Conservation Area. While you’re there, be sure to explore the Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum, an interactive experience that engages visitors in preserving local First Nations history.
Keep the quiet quotient high with a stay in one of Fernwood Hill’s cozy spaces, which include a forest cabin and a studio loft. Strathroy’s Clock Tower Inn is another excellent option, where you can also enjoy a delicious farm-to-table meal.
Rural Retreat #4: Find Me In The Garden
If you’re happiest in the garden, you’ll adore the hands-on activities that these Oxford County farms make available to visitors:
- The Cut Your Own Flowers experience at Makkink’s Flower Farm, an Ontario’s Southwest Signature Experience, will have you roaming about in the flower fields as you build a 25-bloom bouquet of dahlias or sunflowers to take home. Arrowwood Farm in Melbourne and Creek’s Edge Flower Co. in Mount Brydges also offer pick-your-own flowers seasonally.
- Discover the freshest seasonal produce at Bre’s Fresh Market, where the garden’s bounty finds its way directly to your table.
- The Perennial Palettes art experience gives guests the opportunity to create their own watercolour piece in a beautiful Oxford County perennial garden.
- In between activities, take a scenic drive over to Middlesex County to shop for some of the freshest microgreens on the market at Slegers Living Organic Greens, incredible apples at Apple Land Station and beautiful berries at Heeman’s.
While you’re out and about, enjoy a meal where local ingredients shine at farm-to-table favourites like Sixthirtynine, Ironworks Kitchen, KALOS at Oxford Hills and Donnelly’s Café.
Book a stay at Elm Hurst Inn and Spa or Seven Gables B&B for a sensational small-town slumber.
