All year round, visitors to Lancaster,
Pennsylvania and the surrounding Amish country enjoy the traditional
experience of Pennsylvania rural life offered by the Gillingham Horse
Drawn Carriage Company. For years, the Gillingham Horse Drawn
Carriage Company has been offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy
3.5 mile long rides at sunset--while sitting in a traditional hay
cart, drawn by a team of merry Clydesdale draft horses.
Music accompanying the passage of the
hay wagon lends an additional element of magic to the proceedings.
That is, the hay carts feature on-board live music. As enthusiastic
company employees sing and strum their guitars, the passengers tend
to join in and sing along with the lilting old songs of the Amish
country. This is not surprising. Anyone, even the most hardened
cynic, could be moved to song by the sight of the rolling hills and
green woods of the Pennsylvania countryside. As the sunset limns the
green fields and adds a golden tinge to the still ponds of Lancaster
County, many visitors get a sense of wonderful unreality about the
experience. Under the sway of this timeless experience, couples
propose marriage, older people remember their youth, and children
suddenly become well-behaved.
In addition to the traditional sunset
hay rides, the company also offers pony rides. This activity is
especially beloved by children, who cherish the opportunity to ride a
horse--a feature of many fairy tales--except that the horse is sized
just for them.
The Gillingham Company's pony and hay
rides are also a unique way to tour and learn the layout of the
Pennsylvania Amish Country.
