It’s a Welcoming, Happy Trail All Around Hill School

It’s a Welcoming, Happy Trail All Around Hill School

By Leonard Shapiro

PHOTOS BY MISSY JANES

A happy trail for people and pooches.

A bridge not too far connects to the town. A pond along a pretty grassy path.

Jennifer Andrews is both a serial walker, and frequent gawker. The co-owner of the Another Blue Moon consignment shop and Middleburg area resident, Andrews regularly walks the ashphalt, gravel and grass paths all around and through The Hill School’s gorgeous 140-acre campus. And as she walks, she gawks at sights she sees and revels in sounds she hears on virtually every outing as she makes several loops (each loop is 1 1/4 miles) around the property.“I love it,” Andrews said. “You see so much, and there’s this cacophony of sound, maybe crickets or cicadas, birds, bull frogs in the bog. Every season is different, and I’m crazy about the winter, when you really see the contours and the contrast in the land.”

It’s been that way since 1992, when the late Stephen C. Clark Jr., who lived just across The Plains Road, and his daughter, Hill alum Jane Forbes Clark, presented the school a transformative gift of 135 acres. That enabled the Board of Trustees and school leadership to develop and execute a comprehensive master plan for the campus.

Those acres also represented a precious gift to the entire community, particularly when Hill turned the old pastures and cornfields into Middleburg’s version of New York City’s Central Park, no zoo included.

The majestic arboretum designed by former Hill parent and grandparent Polly Rowley that bears her name occupies a cherished area. And the entire property is lovingly maintained by Hill Grounds Supervisor Bob Dornin and his staff.

There are regular walkers, runners, and cyclists. It’s a pooch paradise, too, with countless dogs secured by leashes, the better to avoid confrontations with the occasional rabbit, deer or fox that might cross their paths. Hill even provides convenient waste disposal stations so owners can clean up after their pets.

Head of School Emeritus Tom Northrup and his wife, Ann, walk several miles with their dogs almost every day “unless it’s really freezing,” Ann said. “It’s really beyond description…We have this magnificent area in our little town. And it’s constantly changing and consistently beautiful.’

A pond along a pretty grassy path.

For trail denizens, there are wetlands, ponds, pastures, grassy paths, flower gardens and all those stately trees. It is the Hill School, so there’s a path up a high hill to an American flag flapping in the breeze atop a tall pole visible to one and all.

Many past Hill classes have planted trees, bushes and flower beds that bloom every year. “When the kids come back,” Dornin said, “they’ll go out walking and tell everyone ‘hey, we planted that tree when I was in the eighth grade.’”

This past Covid-altered academic year, a number of outdoor classrooms with log stools were set up. Even on nippy winter days, students and teachers, all wrapped up in warming layers of clothing, went through the day’s lessons.

The pandemic had another significant impact, with a growing number of people using the trails. Many regular gym dwellers spurned their stationary bikes and weight machines in favor of sociallydistanced fresh air workouts.

“The increase in use was almost immediate,” Dornin said. “Walking just exploded. There were lots of people we knew and many we had never seen before. Some folks said they’d never even known about it.”

Dornin keeps the acreage in its natural state. The grassy paths are regularly mowed and the vast majority of users always pick up after themselves and their pets.

“I’m always exploring,” Jennifer Andrews said. “It’s a great retreat, so close to the town. But when you’re out there, you don’t even know you’re near a town. It draws you in. It’s just a sweet spot.”