Vermont's Fly-Fishing Museum

While in Manchester, I spent a pleasant interlude at the American Museum of Fly Fishing. Located close to the Orvis flagship store, the museum collects, conserves and exhibits the largest group of angling-related items in the world. Exhibits depict the developments of fly-fishing over the centuries and celebrate it not just as a sport but as an art. Displays of reels, showing how they evolved over the years, utterly fascinated me, as did the superbly mounted displays of flies. Also of interest was a collection of equipment used by U.S. presidents from John Adams to Dwight D. Eisenhower to George H. W. Bush. Even if your interest in fly-fishing is casual, I highly recommend this fascinating, well-presented museum.