Barnsley Resort

We decided to take an end of summer trip to Barnsley Resort, located in North Georgia. This quaint resort has now become one of our family’s favorite places to go! It was the perfect place to spend quality time and such a quick trip from Nashville (only 3 hours).

Barnsley feels like a storybook village with cottages inspired by the works of Andrew Jackson Downing and a gorgeous Inn that was built in 2018. Southern hospitality is overflowing with porches outfitted with swings and rocking chairs, beautiful landscaping and is the ultimate place to unwind with over 3,000 acres to explore, history and outdoor activities.

On these dogs days of summer, the resort pool was very refreshing! During this time, we made reservations in advance (weekends only) to keep a limited capacity! We enjoyed poolside dining and drinks also!

Barnsley offers many complimentary activities like catch and release fishing, canoes, hiking trails, lawn games, disc golf, bicycle rentals and the Barnsley Farm with miniature horses, goats, donkeys, goats, pig and llama/alpaca!

The Outpost has paddles and life jackets for guests to use if they’d like to canoe across the 10 acre lake or fishing poles! We also saw several turtles and fish splashing around while we we there.

We loved seeing the farm animals, many of them were super friendly and came right up to greet us!

Lily Caroline loves horses and was delighted to paint an “Animal Canvas”. Her horse, Cole was so sweet and seemed to enjoy the soothing paint strokes. Once she created her masterpiece, we watched Cole get cleaned up with a cool shower! This was a highlight for our horse loving girl!

Meanwhile, the boys were in heaven on the golf course! Barnsley is rated one of the top courses in Georgia! Owen learned some new golf techniques from Instructor, Kyle Morris! His love of golf was recharged and I even got to drive a golf cart!

Barnsley has three dining choices- The Woodlands Grill, The Beer Garden and Rice House (which is currently closed). We enjoyed delicious ricotta pancakes with strawberries and powdered sugar for breakfast and an amazing selection for dinner. The patio seating overlooking the golf course was our preferred place to sit.

Barnsley grows a lot of their ingredients on their farm, so it’s truly a farm to table experience.

The Beer Garden offers a more casual environment with twinkly lights and picnic tables. We grabbed biscuits for breakfast and shared pizza and wings for dinner. They have bluegrass music playing and it’s just a fun place to eat outdoors.

The Outpost is the resort shop with souvenirs, snacks, activity rentals and you can place a friendly game of checkers on their inviting porch.

Just outside the Outpost is a little stream and bocce ball court.

We loved exploring around the property and even saw a deer drinking from this pond.

Barnsley Resort is full of history dating back to the 1840’s when Godfrey Barnsley built the estate for his wife, Julia. Unfortuantely, Julia died before the completion of the estate. Read more of the timeline and history of the property here.

Guests will be fascinated by wandering through the Manor House Ruins and gardens.

The Manor House Museum is temporarily closed but we look forward to going back another time to learn more about this historic property.

Charm is literally around every corner at Barnsley! This Meditation Garden is a peaceful area with hammocks and picnic tables.

While we truly enjoyed everything about Barnsley, I’d have to say our most favorite were the nightly campfires with complimentary s’mores kits! Even though it was still pretty warm outside, it felt so cozy sitting fireside, talking with the kids and getting sticky marshmallow and chocolate all over our faces!

My kids asked me several times if we could just live at Barnsley! It feels like a place where everyone knows each other and where you spend most of your time outdoors-the dreamiest setting.

Barnsley is paying close attention and creating a safe environment for guests. Social distancing is encouraged, hand sanitizer is available throughout the property, limited capacity is in place and has implemented a increased Health and Sanitation program. We felt safe in our cabin and were able to stay a safe distance from others during our stay.

If you’re looking for a place to unplug, relax and enjoy nature, Barnsley is a wonderful choice. There’s something for everyone! Next time, we are hoping to try out their signature spa, shooting facilities and guided UTV rides! Why do vacations have to end?

Our family values traveling and making memories! At the end of the day, when the kids are all grown up, I hope they’ll remember our adventures. I’ve heard that places we visit become a part of us! I know that Barnsley has definitely impacted us and is a time we’ll always cherish.