1. Ashley Manor
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (508) 362-8044, (888) 535-2246
Address: 3660 Rte. 6A
Description: A sweeping driveway invites guests to the lovely two-acre estate. The oldest part of the Manor is said to date from 1699, and, despite the many additions since, it still retains its link to its colonial past with wide-board floors, hand-glazed wainscoting on the walls, wide hearth fireplaces, a beehive oven, and even a secret passageway thought to have hidden Tories during the Revolutionary War. Spacious guest accommodations and six guest rooms, including two double-bed rooms and four suites, are carefully designed to conform to the age and history of the manor house. All have air-conditioning and private baths and feature striking period decor; all but one have a working fireplace; some of the rooms have four-poster or canopy-draped beds, and all the suites feature whirlpool tubs. Rooms also have flat-screen TVs, DVD players, and wireless Internet access. The Manor is furnished with handsome antiques, Oriental rugs, and graceful country furniture. A backyard gazebo and fountain garden highlight the parklike private grounds and a recently redone tennis court. Depending on the season, you may enjoy your complimentary breakfast before the dining room’s crackling fireplace or on the breezy outdoor terrace. Within walking distance of Barnstable Village center and the harbor, the Ashley Manor is a gem of an inn and is open year-round. Children 14 years of age and older are welcome.
2. The Lamb And Lion Inn
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (508) 362-6823, (800) 909-6923
Address: 2504 Rte. 6A
Description: Set back off historic Route 6A, this expanded 1740 home surrounds a central courtyard featuring a lovely outdoor pool with an all-season hot tub. It’s a fun, airy inn with a Caribbean feel, until you enter the colonial-era common room of the main house and stand on the wide-board floors in front of one of the many fireplaces. The Lamb and Lion Inn offers a variety of rooms, most opening onto the courtyard. Some have private entrances; others have private decks for afternoon lounging. They even offer a family-style suite, the “Barn-stable,” in a converted barn with three loft sleeping areas, living room, kitchen, and barbecue deck. All the rooms are spacious, clean, and have private baths, cable TV, telephones with data ports, and wireless Internet access.The Innkeeper’s Pride, elegant accommodations set apart from the other guest rooms, offers a fireplace, sunken tub, kitchen, and a private deck. A “deluxe” continental breakfast is served on the sunporch. Children 10 years and older are welcome and the inn is pet friendly. The Lamb and Lion is open year-round. The inn also hosts family celebrations, catered luncheons, small wedding parties, and small group meetings.
3. Trinity Christian Academy
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Education
Telephone: (508) 790-0114
Address: 979 Mary Dunn Rd.
Description: Opened in 1967 and recently relocated to Barnstable, this interdenominational Christian school has about 105 students in preschool through grade 12. The curriculum is traditional and Bible based. French is taught in grades 1 through 12, and writing skills are emphasized in every grade. The school holds weekly chapel and has a bell choir.
4. Kinlin Grover Gmac Real Estate
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (508) 362-2120, (800) 321-2120
Address: 3321 Rte. 6A
Description: Kinlin Grover GMAC has more than 150 sales agents plus rental agents. The company has 14 strategically located offices—from Sandwich to Provincetown. See other Kinlin Grover listings in Upper Cape and Lower Cape sections.
5. Barnstable Restaurant And Tavern
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (508) 362-2355
Address: 3176 Rte. 6A
Description: Both a casual tavern and an upscale eatery can be found in this stately structure in Barnstable Village Center. Come on a Friday for live music in the patio, and ask for the Tavern Keeper’s Special (a fresh-caught mélange of local seafood, served casserole-style).
6. The Dolphin Restaurant
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (508) 362-6610
Address: 3250 Rte. 6A
Description: With low ceilings and a cozy fireplace, this third-generation family restaurant has changed little over the decades. The menu includes seafood, steaks, some veal and duck, sandwiches, burgers, and good daily specials. The calamari is also good, and so is the lively conversation at the bar, which can include informal legal debates spawned across the street in the Barnstable County court complex. The Dolphin is open daily for dinner and every day except Sun for lunch. Reservations are recommended.
7. Barnstable Comedy Club
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (508) 362-6333
Address: 3171 Rte. 6A
Description: The nation’s third-oldest continuously operating theater, the Barnstable Comedy Club has been offering audiences the best in comedy, drama, and music since 1922. The group stages four major productions a year, with 10 performances of each show. Though the performers are all volunteers and nonprofessionals, remember their names: Past “nobodies” have included Geena Davis and Kurt Vonnegut.
8. Cape Cod Art Association
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (508) 362-2909
Address: 3480 Route 6A
Description: The nonprofit Cape Cod Art Association was established in 1948, and offers year-round monthly art exhibitions, some for members only, and others open to area residents. Some shows are juried, and artists are always present at openings. The CCAA also hosts classes and workshops year-round.
9. Barnstable Superior Courthouse
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 362-2511
Address: 3195 Main St.
Description: This granite building, constructed in 1832, has two cannons on the front lawn that were hauled to Barnstable by oxen to defend the town’s saltworks during the War of 1812. Also on the front lawn is a life-size statue of James Otis Jr., who was known as “the Patriot” because of his speeches that rallied people to the Patriot cause before the American Revolution. Otis, who was a good friend of President John Adams, delivered a number of speeches in Boston and elsewhere that helped to move the colonies closer toward revolution. Otis is joined on the county courthouse’s front lawn by his sister, Mercy Otis Warren, a writer who has been called the “First Lady of the American Revolution” because of her works that included a pamphlet calling for a bill of rights in the Constitution and a history of the American Revolution. Six buildings compose the governmental complex of Barnstable County (including the former county jail), which has been the seat of the county court since 1685.
10. Sturgis Library
City: Barnstable, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 362-6636
Address: 3090 Rte. 6A
Description: Believed to be the oldest library building (ca. 1644) in the country, the Sturgis Library has a number of special collections documenting the rich history of Cape Cod and the islands, including the Henry Crocker Kittredge Maritime Collection, the Lothrop Genealogy and Local History Collection, the Cape Cod History Collection, and the Sturgis Library Archives. The library is open year-round; hours are Mon, Wed, Thurs, and Fri 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tues 1 to 8 p.m.; and Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Sun and holidays.