Sewanee, TN
Sewanee, Tennessee started as a spur of the moment addition to a long weekend and ended up being such a sweet getaway! From Nashville it was only an hour and a half drive and back to Birmingham was only two and a half hours, making a very easy trip. Being from Charleston, a lot of people head to Sewanee for college, but we were also glad to hear about all the Birmingham connections at the University. We received the best recommendations both from a law school friend of mine and the very friendly folks at the golf pro shop on campus!
We stayed at the Sewanee Inn which sits on campus and also overlooks the golf course. When we arrived we went straight to the nine hole course, which Matthew has reviewed here! This trip, I did walk the course with him because it was only a nine hole course and it was a beautiful day. The clubhouse had great snacks and a beautiful fireplace to warm up next to on that chilly January day.
Once Matthew was finished with his round of golf we drove over to Memorial Cross. With it being a late afternoon in January, we decided against a hike for this trip. However, Sewanee has incredible hikes all around campus and the town. The golf pro recommended we do Morgan’s Steep trail up to the cross or do the Bridal Veil Falls trail. The school’s website has a list of their ten favorite trails and I am sure all of them are wonderful. The view alone from the Memorial Cross was incredible! The Cross serves as a memorial site for those who died in World War I and since then in memory of all those from Franklin County who have died in wars since then.
After taking in the views at Memorial Cross we drove all around the campus and ultimately parked to walk through the portion of campus around McClurg Dining Hall and All Saints Chapel. The campus is beautiful and perfect to walk around to take in the architecture and history within its small footprint.
Next it was time for a snack and happy hour. We headed to Village Tavern which is one in the same as Blue Chair bakery and coffee shop. On one side of the cute little yellow and blue house sits a site for breakfast and coffee and on the other side a place for local beer and Sewanee sports history. We opted for some local pilsners from Jackalope, a brewery out of Nashville, and enjoyed reading all the history including the famous chant “yea, sewanee’s right” which was posted all over the tavern.
Once back to the Inn we enjoyed a great dinner at the restaurant within the Inn which had started to get busy as all of the students were moving back in for the Spring semester. The best thing on the menu is by far the skillet cookie, if you go just for this cookie you will leave very happy! We took our night-caps over to one of the sitting rooms in the Inn and enjoyed the rest of the evening by a beautiful fire place – the best end to a wintery Tennessee weekend!
Other recommendations we were given but unfortunately were not there long enough to try were:
- High Point in Monteagle for dinner
- Shenanigans for lunch
- Sterlings for coffee
- Hiking at Abbo’s Alley
- Hiking on the Perimeter Trail
