Barnsley, revisited. My wintry return to an old favorite to see what’s new

I stayed in a renovated cottage, cross-court dinked on the new pickleball courts, found my groove with axe throwing, toured the additions to the Beretta Shooting Grounds and enjoyed lunch at the now-enclosed Biergarten. I relaxed at The Spa with a hot stone massage and toured the beautifully lit Manor House ruins at night.

With its charming cottages, romantic ruins, fabulous food, bucolic setting and array of activities, Barnsley Resort in North Georgia is one of my favorite places.

Opened in 1999, Barnsley renovated and upgraded several areas and I went to check out the changes in the 3,000-acre resort.

The cottages were redecorated

The 39 cottages, which have a total of 84 guestrooms and suites, are the original accommodations of Barnsley Resort. They recently underwent a $6.2 million remodel by Charlotte Lucas Design.

I was lucky enough to stay in the largest cottage, the Godrey Cottage, which has seven bedrooms and is perfect for traveling with a group or large family. Every bedroom has two queen beds, its own bathroom, mini fridge and coffee maker. The common areas include a kitchen, large living area and wood-burning fireplace. 

The Biergarten was upgraded

Raining or cold during your stay? No problem as the pavilion at the Biergarten has now been covered and a two-sided stacked stone fireplace has been added for warmth when needed.

In addition to your favorite brew, be sure to grab a meal at the Biergarten from the selection of barbecue, German food, salads and sandwiches. I highly recommend the melt-in-your-mouth brisket sandwich.

Now there’s pickleball!

In addition to activities that include golf, horseback riding, shooting, fly fishing, archery, axe throwing, disc golf and biking, guests at Barnsley can play pickleball on six lighted courts.

Our group hit the court one day and after some instruction, tried playing a few games in the wintry windy weather. While I enjoy the sport, I haven’t joined the rank of the millions of passionate picklers.

The Beretta Shooting Grounds by High Adventure Company have been enhanced

I confess I’m not a big shooter. I’m not really into guns, finding them heavy, difficult to load and so very loud. (I was pleasantly surprised to find that after a bit of instruction, I was killing it at axe-throwing and really enjoyed it. There’s not much upper body strength needed and an axe makes a gentle thunk sound when it strikes the target.)

The first time I tried the sporting clays at Barnsley years ago, the instructor was so patient as we made our rounds to different stations and I continued to miss every single clay. Finally he said, “I just want you to hit one so bad!” Meanwhile, my husband was a cracker shot. Final tally: Chris: 66 out of 100. Me: 2 out of 100. The instructor got his wish, but just barely.

To get to the Beretta Shooting Grounds, guests meet at the Outpost Experience Center, load into a van with the instructor and take a beautiful drive to the 1,800-acre grounds.

Additions to the grounds include a new five-stand station, two 15-station clays courses and a large new deck at the Clubhouse. The resort has also added a field for Helice, a target shooting sport that originated in Italy and involves shooting Helices, small plastic targets that are designed to simulate the movements of real birds. They are also called ZZ Birds. To really challenge yourself and try your hand at long-range shooting, try the Swarovski 1,000 Yard Challenge.

I also enjoyed some of my favorite activities at Barnsley – walking through the ruins at night, enjoying fabulous meals at Woodlands and just relaxing by the firepit.

For more on Barnsley Resort, please see our story: “Barnsley Resort is a luxury getaway an hour from Atlanta with fabulous food, historical ruins“

– Jan Schroder, Editor-in-chief