McCutcheon Park and Lamond House

Type of Exercise: Cycling/Biking

Bike Stats:
Distance: 10.2 miles
Time: 55 Minutes

This very hazy morning, I mounted the old carbon-fiber horse and made my way over to a park I’ve been passing on my way to work for the past year, McCutcheon Park. It was so incredibly hazy this morning, with the cloud-cover being so low near the river. It made for some INCREDIBLE pictures at the park of sun shimmering through the forest glade!

I have to say that this park was somewhat difficult to enter. I have seen the main entrance from Fort Hunt Road while driving by, however the gravel road at this entrance is steep and the gate is closed. The sign also refers to the caretakers residence, which led me to believe that perhaps this was a private road, and I didn’t want to intrude.

I biked around the park until I found a secret second entrance on a residential street, which leads to the park’s playground. I sloshed in through the wet grass, partially lifting my bike, so as not to leave much of a mark. A quick look at the map, and I knew where I was going…to the mansion!

The land I was walking on was once owned by the granddaughter of founding father George Mason. The land eventually wound up in the hands of the Lamond family (Angus Lamond), who traced their heritage to Scotland. I’ve noticed that early Alexandria history seems to involve quite a number of rich Scots! In the 1940’s the family built this beautiful mansion high on the hill overlooking the Potomac River nearby and Alexandria. The Lamonds were prepared to sell the property in 2000 and it was purchased by Fairfax County and named for the late vice chair of the Fairfax Park Authority, Gilbert S. McCutcheon (another Scottish name?).

I took a few pictures of the mansion and then I realized, bit to my horror, that the mansion IS the caretakers residence. At this point I made a hasty exit, as 7 AM is quite early for a random man to be prowling around your house with his bicycle! On my way out, I took some ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS photos of the sunlight shimmering through the haze and the branches of the nearby forest glade. The atmosphere was ethereal, perhaps not unlike morning fog on the Scottish highlands.

On my way out, I pulled out my phone and double checked all my pictures to make sure that I didn’t accidentally have a picture of the caretaker doing his/her morning yoga or something. I don’t know why that was a thought, but I tend to think of the worst case scenario and move from that. Windows were clear…no obscene sun greetings (or any other kinds of obscene greetings), and so I hopped back on the bike and took off.

The park is located in an extremely affluent neighborhood of Alexandria Fairfax County. I decided to take a trip down to the Potomac River and the Mount Vernon Trail. Winding my way through this affluent neighborhood, I quickly became aware that Lamond house was by FAR not the only palatial mansion in the neighborhood. People were out and about walking dogs and jogging. Sprinklers were sprinkling and there was nary a car in sight until I made it down to the George Washington Memorial Parkway. I scouted ahead on the trail for a prospective site for later this month and then retraced my path home! WHEW

It was a short 10-mile ride in about 45 minutes, but I have not been on my bike in quite a while, and I’m waaaaay out shape. I was glad to be home and near to a supply of caffeine. It was time to log into work!