Amish Country

The Amish arrived in Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century and now live in scattered settlements across several states, the largest concentrations being in Lancaster County and in Holmes County, Ohio. Each church district agrees its own Ordnung, the understanding of what technology and dress are acceptable, which is why the rules differ from one valley to the next and why generalisations fail. What a visitor sees is a working agricultural landscape: black buggies on the shoulder of the road, laundry on lines, fields worked with horses, and roadside stands selling produce, pretzels and shoofly pie on the honour system. Quilts, furniture and cheese are the crafts to look for, and Sunday is quiet everywhere.

What you actually see

• The farm roads - horses, buggies and worked fields on the back lanes.
• Quilts - the auctions and shops of Lancaster and Holmes counties.
• Roadside stands - produce, baked goods and honour-system boxes.
• Furniture and cheese - the woodworking and dairy the settlements are known for.

When to go

April to October, with harvest and mud sales in spring and autumn the most interesting times to be there. Sunday is a day of worship and most Amish businesses close, along with a good deal else. Autumn colour and harvest in October is the peak season for visitors.

Honest expectations

The Amish do not want to be photographed, and pointing a camera at faces, buggies or children is intrusive however picturesque the scene; buy from the stands and leave the lens down. Around the main towns there is a heavy layer of coach-tour attractions with little to do with the community. Buggies travel slowly on narrow roads, so drive with real patience.

Nearby

Lancaster city and its central market anchor the Pennsylvania side; Berlin and Millersburg the Ohio one.