Captain Mike Waters in Belcourt Castle courtyard
At the gilded gates to Belcourt Castle on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, Mike Waters, donned in colorful coachman’s attire, will announce his arrival with a bugle. The gleaming white carriage with plush upholstery is drawn by two silver-white Percheron horses. Waters owns Commonwealth Farm, consisting of 17 acres conserved in partnership with Aquidneck Land Trust in Middletown, Rhode Island.
The horses and carriage depart from Belcourt Castle between 12 and 5 in the afternoon during Winter Festival, February 14, 15, 21, and 22. The experience of a nostalgic drive around Ocean Drive or down historic Bellevue Avenue may be paired with an afternoon tour of the historic 60-room mansion of Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, who married Alva, the former Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. The present owner of Belcourt Castle, Harle Tinney, opens the English Library for tea at 2:00 p.m. to coincide with the carriage ride.
Over a century ago Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, who built Belcourt between 1891 and 1894, was widely renowned for his driving skills. He was noteworthy as a “whip” (somebody who is experienced or skilled in using a whip, e.g. the driver of a horse-drawn carriage). Belcourt’s stable once held 30 of the finest carriage horses in America and Oliver Belmont was seen daily driving on Bellevue Avenue with one of his eighteen fine carriages – a special one for each time of day. Plans are underway to restore the stables at Belcourt Castle and exhibit them with the tour.
Seeing the Bellevue Avenue mansions from a horse-drawn coach is a memorable experience, a return to the quieter days of Victorian Newport. Mike Waters’ carriage is high enough to see over estate walls into the manicured grounds. The pace of the horses is slow enough to appreciate every piece of historic architecture or glorious ocean vista on the route either north on Bellevue Avenue to Narragansett Avenue, or south on Bellevue Avenue to Ocean Drive and Brenton Park.
To schedule a carriage ride please call Mike Waters at 401-683-4504. Carriage rides for up to six passengers cost from $25.00 to $75.00 per ride, or more, depending on time and duration of the trip. Call Belcourt Castle at 401-846- 0669 or email belcourt2006@
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
