April 11, 12:30 pm - Petersburg's Historic Battersea Walk & Tour

Once a month the 1768 historic landmark, Battersea, is open to the public for free tours. For this event, we will meet at the Petersburg, VA, Visitor Center in the newly restored 1854 South Side Train Depot. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early to explore the visitor center exhibits before we start our walk at 12:30. The visitor center has public restrooms and ample parking nearby.

From the visitor center we will walk 1.5 miles through historic neighborhoods to Battersea. We will spend about an hour exploring the grounds and taking a guided tour of the partially renovated house. (See some of the restoration photos here and watch a video tour of the grounds and home here.) We will then walk 1.5 miles back to the visitor center (on mostly different streets from which we came).

For those who want to extend their stay in Petersburg, I will be walking (3-4 blocks) from the visitor center to the newly renovated Hotel Petersburg (imagine Petersburg's version of Richmond's Jefferson Hotel) to grab some refreshment at the hotel's Shirley's Bar. (Learn all about the hotel history and renovation here.) From the hotel, you can walk back to your car at your leisure, maybe stopping by a few of Petersburg's cool shops on Sycamore Street on the way.