If antiquing is your fancy, visit West Main Street in downtown historic Abingdon for all manner of antique gifts, furniture, photos and just about anything else you can think of in any price range, all within a two-block radius and just a negligible walk from a great meal at the Withers Hardware Restaurant.

Right next to each other, at the junction of West Main and Wall Streets, repose both the local and international flavor of antiquing, with the Brandywine and Foxglove antique stores.

Formerly known as the Peoples Drug Store to early 20th-century Abingdon, Brandywine gives a glimpse into the past of Appalachia, offering a limitless array of Southern charm in its old-fashioned dinnerware, furniture and appliances.  Foxglove features the higher end of American and English antiques, all neatly arranged and in very good condition, including complete sets for interior lighting as well as pristine pewter and china sets.

Also located directly on Main, just a few doors from Withers Hardware, is Zephyr Antiques, which houses four floors of history just waiting to be rediscovered.  Originally a theatre in 1939, Zephyr offers American and English pieces from the late 1800s to approximately the mid-1980s, such that one could spend hours simply deciding which decade to choose.

Slightly off the beaten path, Abingdon Mercantile & Frame Gallery tends toward the slightly newer scene with a rustic cast.  As the smell hits on the way in the door, one immediately gravitates to the candle selection, but these handsome and affordable gift packages are just only one of many points of interest in the store.  Browse the best local artwork, including featured artist P. Buckley Moss, who specializes in primarily Amish scenes in vivid warm colors.  Abingdon Mercantile offers 20 percent off all custom framing orders, which might turn browsing into impulse shopping.  With so many wonderful works of art available in the gallery, who could resist?  Civil War enthusiasts will find a wide variety of art, books and collectibles as well.

Just a convenient minute’s walk at the most from one store to the next, downtown Abingdon is rich with history and variety when it comes to antiquing.  Each year at the Virginia Highlands Festival, Virginia Highlands Community College hosts an antique show, and any other time of year is always good for a stroll along Main Street and, at the very least, a glimpse inside one of the many antique stores there.