Only two hours north of Atlanta, the Clayton-Dillard area in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a perfect place to shed city tensions. The blood pressure drops, along with the temperature, and it doesn't take long to feel as content as the cows grazing against the backdrop of rolling terrain.

The northeast corner of Georgia offers plenty of trails to hike and scenery to admire. The 1,000-foot-deep Tallulah Gorge is perhaps the most dramatic, but streams, waterfalls and woods abound - and not just in Black Rock Mountain State Park. Lake Rabun and Lake Burton are nearby. You can fish at Andy's Trout Farm, where the critters seem to want to get caught, and ride horses at Dillard House.

But physical exertion is not everybody's idea of relaxation. If you feel the need to get up out of your rocking chair, North Georgia is a perfect place for a time-honored mountain vacation activity: puttering.

Crafts and antiques are the main crop here, to judge from ubiquitous signs and emporiums both on and off U.S. 441, the main drag that connects the string of little towns.

From homes with quilts hanging on roadside clotheslines to strips of shops with names such as Kountry Kabin, the area offers plenty of souvenirs, "cherishables," antiques and truly wonderful examples of folk art and mountain crafts. It's all here: dulcimers, twig baskets and contemporary interpretations of age-old traditions.

A mountain getaway is refreshing anytime, but if you need a special reason to make the trip, a major arts event is planned July 23-Aug. 13. "Southern Folk Expressions," featuring the works of more than 100 artists, will be staged in three locations: the Hambidge Center near Dillard, Main Street Gallery at Clayton and Timpson Creek Gallery eight miles west of Clayton.

No matter when you're here, you'll enjoy visiting Timpson Creek Gallery. The garden alone, in which whirligigs and other colorful sculptures stand among the flowers, is appealing enough to make you pull off the road.

The attractive gray building, with clematis climbing on porch posts and a log-cabin playhouse on the lawn, projects such a homey feel that it's a surprise when owner Cecile Thompson tells you the place originally was her Uncle Rabun Ramey's beer joint.

Now it's filled with an imaginatively arranged assortment of art and objects old and new. Antique furniture and weathered collectibles such as old Coca-Cola signs share space with contemporary furniture and colorful paintings by self-taught artists.

Duayne Thompson's wonderful interpretation of the Adirondack style is a highlight. Thompson, who is married to Cecile and used the building as his studio before she gradually took it over - works in the back. He's created a monumental secretary incorporating two 19th-century paintings of moose as the front panels and moose antlers as a pediment. A mirror framed in strips of wood features two carved fish lamps with shades made of hornets nests.

Folk-art enthusiasts will want to visit Main Street Gallery, named for Clayton's main drag. The storefront gallery, well-known among collectors in Atlanta and beyond, represents some 30 artists, most from the Southeast. The oblong space is chockablock with diverse things, including vividly painted still lifes by Sarah Rakes; sculptures by Mama Johnson made out of surgical gloves stuffed with cut-up egg cartons; carved canes of nursery-rhyme figures and Civil War soldiers by Dick Moshiers; and eerie paintings on wood by Jay Schuette depicting zombielike folks eating corn on the cob.

The Hambidge Center Gallery & Gift Shop near Dillard, which displays folk art and contemporary regional work, is another mandatory stop on the arts-and-crafts trail. It is currently staging an exhibit of Jugtown Pottery.

But don't limit yourself to the gallery. The 650-acre center, on the National Register of Historic Places, offers trails to walk - in the woods, by shady streams, past picturesque buildings of mossy stone and weathered logs. The center owns Barker's Creek Mill, an authentic water- powered grist mill, where Atlanta artist Laurence Holden grinds cornmeal, grits and whole-wheat flour one weekend a month from April to November.

And it holds a fascinating history that affable director Judy Barber will be happy to share with you. Mary Hambidge founded the center in 1934 with the vision of creating a weaving studio and cottage industry for the area. Living in a century-old house on the property, she taught local women to weave in the building that now houses the gallery. They sold their goods in a shop on Madison Avenue in New York.

Gradually, after her death in 1973, the place became an artists' colony. The property is dotted with eight cottages in which artists from as far away as California live and pursue their work away from the same distractions you've escaped by coming to the mountains. Penny's Garden in Mountain City offers a change of pace. From their location in a renovated house in an apple orchard, Penny and Don Melton sell dried flowers they grow in the backyard and dry themselves - which accounts for the fragrance wafting through the low-slung shop.

You can visit the garden behind the shop, which also sells products and gardening accessories, and admire the twig gazebo created by local artist Don Bundrick. Or you can drink up the serene view of the mountains - which remain the supreme attraction of a trip to North Georgia.

Take time for home cooking, nature walks, antiques

Where to find it: From Atlanta, take I-85 north to I-985, the Gainesville/Lake Lanier exit. It becomes U.S. 23/Ga. 365. U.S. 23 then merges with U.S. 441; go north and it takes you right into the mountains. In three hours, you're there.

Where to stay: The mountains are filled with motels, chain variety and independent. Two places are out of the ordinary:

Andy's Trout Farm, on Betty's Creek Road in Dillard, five miles off U.S. 441, has rustic one-bedroom cabins, $44 a night for two people, and two-bedroom cabins, $59 for four, $4 for each additional guest. 706-746- 2550.

Dillard House, on U.S. 441 in Dillard, has rooms for $55 to $80 and suites for $125; cottages are $125 to $200. Rates are seasonal. The restaurant is well known for its mountain cooking. 706-746-5348.

Eating well: Cupboard Cafe in Dillard, on U.S. 441, next to the Rabun County Bank, serves home cooking family-style. 706-746-5700.

Green Shutters Restaurant, on South Main Street between Clayton and Tiger, also serves country cooking. 706-782-3342.

Old Clayton Inn, on South Main Street in Clayton, has a chef whose name may be familiar to many Atlantans: Michael Gravely, formerly at Atlanta's Chef's Cafe. The inn also is noteworthy because it has an espresso bar. 706-782-7722.

What to see and do: Hambidge Center on Betty's Creek Road in Rabun Gap, just under 4 miles off U.S. 441 (near Dillard). 706-746-5718. The Hambidge Center Gallery & Gift Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April through November, daily except Sundays. The shop is open from April to October. The Hambidge Center sponsors nature walks from May through October; the $14 fee includes lunch and a three-hour tour led by botanist Marie Mellinger. Call for times.

Barker's Creek Mill, on Betty's Creek Road. Open the first full weekend of each month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Penny's Garden. Black's Creek Road, off U.S. 441 in Mountain City (look for the Rocking Horse antiques shop for turn). Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Sundays, April to mid December. 706-746-6918.

Main Street Gallery. 641 Main Street, Clayton. Open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Mondays through Saturdays year-round; 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sundays. 706-782-2440. Through July 17, the gallery is showing works by Sarah Rakes.

Timpson Creek Gallery. U.S. 76, eight miles west of Clayton. Open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays year-round. 706-782-5164. Through July 9, showing "Three Georgia Brothers: Indian Joe Williams, David James and Pat Williams."

(This information was current at the time of publication, but hours and prices may have changed. It's always a good idea to call before you travel.)