Very interesting house with historical artifacts but tour let down by our temporary guide who struggled to remember anything and kept referring to his notes.

Plan to visit just the gardens as the mansion will be under renovation for over a year. But the gardens and grounds around the house are worth the visit.

The house tour starts with a brief video explaining the history of the house and grounds, featuring an interview with the garden's long-time (and late) caretaker. In the nearby carriage house there's a nice model of the house. It's worth checking out since only the lower floor of the house is open to visitors due to local fire regulations.

The volunteer docent led us through the first floor, noting that Julian Wood Glass Jr. - the home's last family owner - fixed up the house after it sat boarded up for over 40 years. Glass didn't set out to restore it to any particular period of its 200+ year history, rather redid it to be like an English noble's country estate.

The house will close in November 2011 for repair and renovations, including much-needed air conditioning. This will take about 3 years, so if you want to see the house, go now or wait til 2014!

The gardens are quite nice, and the docent pointed out that the grounds are a popular wedding venue. (There were still stacks of chairs from a ceremony the previous morning.) While the docent pointed out a few things immediately surrounding the house, the tour is self-guided, though an audio tour is available at the gate for a nominal charge. The rose garden is well done, and the asian and water gardens shouldn't be missed. Its apparent that the landscapers worked with the rocky terrain rather than fight it, designing around rock outcroppings and incorporating them in to the plan.

If you plan on visiting, check the weather forecast! They close the gardens - and the house - if there's thunder in the area. I found out the hard way on my first visit.

I was in Winchester for a few days visiting my boyfriend and his family. I had never been to the area before so I knew little about the history (beyond what I learned in high school about the Civil War). We went to the MSV and the Gardens and took a tour of the house (each has its own price - none over $7 - and all are worth it). The Museum is full of antiques - knives, pots, quilts, etc. It gives a very good picture of what life was like during the early years of our country (something I don't get to see too often, as I'm from California), and the Glen Burnie Gardens are spectacular. There is a water garden and a Chinese garden (among more conventional areas such as a rose garden and a vegetable garden) surrounding a beautiful house. The tour of the house is interesting and recommended (cost: $3), though it would have been nice to be able to see more parts of the house beyond the ground floor. To top it all off, the Museum and the House are surrounded by picturesque Shenandoah scenery - cows grazing right by the parking lot, rolling hills, expansive views. I highly recommend seeing everything here, whether or not you're new to the area (my boyfriend has lived in Winchester his whole life and had never been here and loved it, as did I).