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52 Weeks in Bedford County, VA - An Introduction

By Melissa Markham on July 30, 2008 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I recently blogged about a friend who has joined some other friends in starting blogs to tell others what their corners of the world are like. She invited me to join in the 365 days in ______ movement, but I told her, I had a hard enough time keeping up with this blog.

However, I have been having a blast reading her posts (she is funny!) and I have also enjoyed reading other friends' blogs when they talk about where they live, so I think I will post once a week and include pictures of what we have done the previous week. I will probably do this on the weekend.

I thought I would have an intro today to whet your appetite and give you some general information about the county I live in. Be sure to come back on Sundays for more fun stuff!

Bedford County is mostly a rural county. It is the largest (acre wise) county in the state of Virginia and one of the fastest growing. If I want to drive from the Eastern border of the county to the Western border or from the southern border to the northern border, this drive can take between 1 and 1 1/4 hours to complete.

Bedford County has areas of fast growth and more money. Forest, VA has literally exploded since I was a child with fancy houses, high incomes, and the people there have even talked off and on about leaving Bedford County and becoming a town. On the other side of Bedford County, you will find Smith Mountain Lake. Smith Mountain Lake has over 500 miles of shoreline and is the most popular lake to visit in Virginia. A great location for water sports with a State Park full of hiking trails, campsites and a public beach area. We usually try to rent a boat and go to the lake once a year. How long does it take us to get from our home to there? About 45 minutes. The really interesting thing is that we live in Huddleston, VA which goes from Eastern Bedford County all the way to the lake...unfortunately, we live on the Eastern side away from the lake... but that's life.

Bedford County's county seat is located in Bedford City (formally known as Liberty). It is a nice little town where everybody knows everybody else (at least that's what I heard). In the northern half of the county, the Peaks of Otterrise above the horizon. Both Flat Top and Sharp Top are wonderful places to hike and I will see if I can get Daniel to share some pictures he has taken there.

Well, that is enough of an overview for now. Here is a map you can check out.

As you can see Bedford lies between two larger cities: Roanoke and Lynchburg. This makes it a wonderful bedroom community. Further growth has come about in Bedford City area due to the National D-Day Memorial.

Around 30 years ago, the McDonald's in Bedford went out of business. It was the first ever to do so. Now Bedford has a McDonald's, Applebee's, Huddle House, Wendy's, Burger King, Arby's, Long John Silver's, and more. Plus hotels, Wal-Mart and Lowe's just to name a few.