Henry Clay Mansion in Lexington and other Richmond, KY Things to Do Tips

Okay, the Henry Clay mansion is actually in Lexington, about 20-30 minutes from Richmond.

I visited the gardens at the Henry Clay Mansion while I was home in June, 2003. The garden's really were lovely, rather small, but nice and we toyed around the grounds but decided against the house tour because it would have taken an hour and $7 per person. Considering some of us had already been through, it wasn't worth it. We were able to walk around and see their outdoor cellars, the outhouse, stables, smoke house, etc. We could peek in the windows to get an idea of the interior.
There's also a cute small cafe called the Ginkgo Tree Cafe on site where you can grab a bite to eat at.

Following detailed info is from http://www.henryclay.org/

Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate has undergone several changes since it was first developed by Henry Clay. Today the estate includes the main house, outbuildings, and a formal garden situated on a twenty-acre lot.

The mansion stands on the site of the original Ashland, home of Henry Clay from 1806 to 1852. The present Italianate style house was completed by Clay’s son James in 1857. The interior was remodeled in the Victorian style by Anne Clay McDowell, one of Clay’s granddaughters, in the 1880s.

Guided tours daily. The one hour tours start on the hour.
Hours: 10 am - 4:00 pm Monday - Saturday,
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Sunday.
The last tour of the day begins at 4 pm.
Closed in January, holidays and Mondays from November through March.
Admission: $7 Adults, $3 children, children 5 and under free.
Special rates and arrangements for groups.

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Phone: (859) 266-8581
Address: 120 Sycamore Road, Lexington, Kentucky  40502
Website: http://www.henryclay.org
Other Contact: Email: info@henryclay.org

Bybee Pottery was a field trip favorite for my elementary school as they're located less than a mile apart. I'd always end up going home with a little clay owl or some very tiny figurine. This photo is precisely how I remember it!

The pottery is a Kentucky staple and a place that relatives always wanted to visit while in town. It's an absolute mad house in there as well. It's very small and people line up outside the doors on certain days, hours before it opens. When they get in, they just grab whatever they see and can fit into their carts, and then decide after the fact what they actually want.

Walter Cornelison, the fifth-generation owner of Bybee Pottery, isn’t even sure himself how old the company is. Official sales records and his own family’s involvement go back to 1845, but other references indicate that the pottery may have been operating (although with less formal record keeping) as early as 1809. What is known is that the Bybee pots begin with clay dug from the same deposits early settlers mined, and that the entire process, from mixing to grinding to hand-throwing and -trimming, has changed very little in more than a century.

It is also the second oldest operating pottery in the U.S.

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Phone: (859) 369-5350
Address: P.O Box 555, 610 Waco Loop, Waco, KY. 40385
Directions: Directions:  I-75 South to exit 87, turn Left.  Stay on this road until Highway 52, then make a right.  Stay on East 52 for 8 miles, then follow the signs to Bybee Pottery in Waco, KY.  Allow 1 hour of travel time from the south side of Lexington.

Keeneland was my introduction to the horse races and no other track compares in my memory. :) Every year my friends and I would skip a day of highschool and go there. Unfortunately, their live racing season is very short so you only have a few chances to enjoy them, a few weeks in April and a few weeks in October.

It's located in the midst of some of the lushest green pastures and horse farms in Lexington, within a mile of Blue Grass Airport.

It's also the track where the movie SeaBiscuit was filmed.

4201 Versailles Road
P.O. Box 1690
Lexington, Kentucky
40588-1690

Telephone: (859) 254-3412
Toll Free: (800) 456-3412

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Directions: General Admission is $3 USD
Parking is free unless you want valet.
Website: http://www.keeneland.com

Another field trip necessity of my youth. The planetarium is where we'd go sit in total darkness and watch amazing films about our universe. Then we'd buy astronaut ice cream which is a dehydrated block of color wrapped in a shiny foil wrapper and head home on the bus. It was a cool place though and felt it deserves mention as if you're travelling to the area as a tourist, you need all of the ideas you can get. :)

The Arnim D. Hummel Planetarium was opened on November 16, 1988. It contains a Spitz Space Voyager projection system under a 20.6 meter (67.5 feet) dome that is tilted at an angle of 27 degrees. At the present time, the Hummel Planetarium is one of the largest and most sophisticated planetariums in the United States, especially on a university campus. The Hummel Planetarium has seating for 164 people in very comfortable and generously sized seats.

It is located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, is open each week for School Programs, Public Programs, and Special Events. Laser Shows are also presented. Please see our posted schedule. You can contact them by calling 859 622-1547 between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday.

Adults - $4.00 USD
Senior Citizens and All Students - $3.50 USD
Children 12 and Under - $3.00 USD

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Phone: 859 622-1547
Address: Kit Carson Drive , Richmond, KY  40475
Website: http://www.planetarium.eku.edu/

This is a more generic Kentucky Tourist acitivity, but it is enjoyable enough. You can ride around the park in a horse and carriage drawn by huge draft horses, you can walk through the barns visiting the different horses, they put on a daily show called the Parade of Breeds including those cute tiny miniature horses. The horse museum is there and they host different special events throughout the year such as the Egyptian Event which is a week long Egyptian Arabian horse show.

There's a gift shop and a cafeteria-like place for food.

Another interesting fact: One of the 9 equine actors that played Seabiscuit in the movie has made the horse park it's permanant home.

Please refer to their website for their current admission fee's and schedules.

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Phone: (859) 233-4303 Toll Free (800) 6
Address: 4089 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511
Website: http://www.imh.org/khp/

Beautiful Kentucky rolling hills and acres of green lush fields and vinyard! A relatively new vineyard opened by a local family by the name of Land. Delicious wines... My favorite being the Maggie Adams blush named after a lady that had lived on the farm at one time I believe. Their Vignole & Blackberry wines are also worth trying. The Concord is sweet and just like spiked GRAPE juice if that's what you're looking for. But so far, I haven't tried anything bad.

They DID have a nice restaurant and gift shop but there was a recent fire (2009) and there are plans to rebuild. Acres of Land is a straight shot off of I-75 out in the country of Madison County. It's a curvy road (about 3 miles off the beaten path). They offer scheduled tours and live music events. Check their schedule online!

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Phone: (859) 328-3000
Address: Richmond, KY (there are interstate signs on I75)
Website: http://www.acresoflandwinery.com/