Porcupine Ridge Road .......

Early this week we did a Photo Drive north east of the Daylesford area in Victoria, Australia.  The following map shows - in black - the section I have documented in this post which is Porcupine Ridge Road and Leslies Lane.

If you would also like to do a similar drive, then after leaving Daylesford heading NE on the A300 (Midland Highway) turn right once you reach the C316 (Daylesford-Malmsbury Road) and soon after make an immediate left turn into Porcupine Ridge Road. 

We travelled along the Porcupine Ridge Road (centre of map) and veered left onto Leslies Lane as seen above.

Along the Ridge Road you will be able to see this amazing countryside, fresh spring grass with quite a few cattle and sheep farms along the way.

As we drove along Porcupine Ridge Road we often saw bush tracks and gravel roads leading off into the countryside, obviously to farms and other residential homes, some with a row of letterboxes like this one at Scotts Lane.

The red cross marks the area where the letter boxes are located and the image on the far right is direct off Google Maps so you can see the actual intersection.

After passing Scotts Lane, we came to the intersection of Leslies Lane and Porcupine Ridge Road, it was at this section we turned left into Leslies Lane - see images below - and followed the gravel road towards Mt Franklin.

On our drive we noticed many large farms and smaller homes set back off the road or high up on the hills and on checking the Internet noted there are a few for sale, one of them - in part - reads as follows:

There are two dams and a spring fed creek, one of the dams could be more aptly described as a lake and has its own little jetty from which you could throw a line in and catch a trout or red fin for dinner. The lake is set off beautifully with a large willow tree on the island.

and another:

It comes fully furnished and decorated and is a “no fuss” investment that could also be enjoyed by an owner occupier. With 180° views of Mt Franklin the home features 2 bedrooms (master with spa), 2 bathrooms, open plan living with cosy wood fire, and large decked outdoor entertaining area.

I can imagine there would be many people that would enjoy this style of country living, not to mention sitting on the "large decked outdoor entertaining area" just watching all the magnificent scenery!

After we had chatted about 'the dreams' we were back in the car heading south and onto Glenlyon to enjoy lunch!!


other blog posts from this day are:

• the drive to Glenlyon is HERE
• the wildflowers we saw are HERE
• lunch at The Glenlyon Store is HERE
• Glenlyon General Cemetery is HERE

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from Daylesford to Glenlyon ....

a pleasant drive to Glenlyon for lunch!

From Daylesford head NE for a short distance along the A300 or Midland Highway, turning right further along at the intersection of C316 & A300 along the Daylesford-Malmsbury Road towards Glenlyon.

From this intersection to Glenlyon it is just a little over 9 klms and will take about 10 minutes drive time and as you can see in the Google image below, the road is bitumen all the way with nice views...

If you have your camera on board, allow time to stop as there are many items of interest that you may like to capture.

The following old homestead is along this road on the right hand side heading east. Well worth stopping for a few photos!

 
You will pass through two very small rural villages - Coomoora & Wheatsheaf - before arriving into Glenlyon.

Just past Wheatsheaf you will see this very old, uninhabitable home on the left.  The tree is also on the property.

The image of the roadway is from "google maps" and you can see the house on the left before reaching Glenlyon.

Five minutes later you will arrive at Glenlyon where - no doubt - you will be stopping by at the Glenlyon General Store for a coffee or maybe lunch!

other blog posts from this day are:

• our lunch at Glenlyon HERE
• The Glenlyon Cemetery HERE
• Porcupine Ridge Road is HERE
• A bunch of Wildflowers is HERE

stay tuned for further updates on our "photo drives" ....




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a bunch of wildflowers

On my recent 'photo drive' around NE Daylesford, I drove  along the Porcupine Ridge Road and where you can see as far as Malmsbury Reservoir and probably Lauriston Reservoir as well! The scenery in the area is spectacular especially at this time of year with the new spring grass and wildflowers in abundance.

The following images were taken along Saw Pit Gully Road, just off Leslies Lane in the Mt Franklin area as marked in blue on this map.....

The above images have been reduced in size to upload faster. If you wish to see a few of better quality, then check my FLICKR account.

Wildflowers bloom in national parks and reserves in the Grampians, Great Ocean Road and Victoria's High Country. Look for native orchids at Cathedral Range State Park, Holey Plains State Park, where 25 species have been counted, and Morwell National Park, home to rare native orchids.  The following website will give you a full list of parks in which to see a good display of Wildflowers in Victoria:

VISIT VICTORIA - Wildflowers

the "pick of the bunch" are definitely The Wildflowers in The Grampians:

THE GRAMPIANS - wildflowers


blog post on the Glenlyon Cemetery is HERE

blog post on the drive from Daylesford to Glenlyon is HERE




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Lunch at The Glenlyon General Store ....

On the drive around the Central Highlands area just NE of Daylesford, we were so engrossed in looking at all the scenery we nearly forgot it was time for lunch!

A friend and myself had gone out for a "Monday Meander" and the scenery was just beautiful, it helped that we had good weather and the new spring grass was in abundance in the paddocks, so everything looked fresh and welcoming.
But it was soon time for lunch so we headed off towards the popular Glenlyon General Store, which is situated on the Daylesford-Malmsbury Road (C316). 
 

Glenlyon is just 11 klms NE of Daylesford or about 15 mins drive time. But if traveling along the Calder Hwy (M79) then Glenlyon is 22 klms SW of Kyneton or about 25 mins drive time.

Being a Monday there were not a lot of people there when we first arrived, but it didn't take long before the customers started coming in!

It was a cosy environment for lunch with a fire burning in the fire grate, a fairly good range of foods on the menu and the coffee that came immediately was hot!

My friend ordered the Corn and Ricotta Fritters with mushrooms & spinach, though the plate came minus the spinach! I had the Vegetable Burger - which was a large corn and ricotta  fritter - on Turkish bread.  I would have liked to have seen a small dish of relish or chutney on the side, but instead it had pesto pasted on the 'toasted' bread. But it was nice nevertheless.

Overall it is a small country 'general store' that is very popular with people on weekend drives from the city. It serves light meals / coffee etc and sells a few unusual items that would make ideal Christmas or birthday gifts!

I would certainly make a return visit for perhaps a Friday night meal and music or just calling in for coffee to see what goodies they may have on the shelves.

Glenlyon General Store has a Facebook Page, so click LIKE to keep up to date on all events too:

FACEBOOK - GLENLYON

The Glenlyon General Store has a website, check it out here:

GLENLYON GENERAL STORE

Mostly excellent reports on tripadvisor:

TRIPADVISOR - GLENLYON

There are good reports coming thru on urbanspoon too, check here:

URBAN SPOON - GLENLYON


Blog post HERE on the drive from Daylesford to Glenlyon.


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please note the above blog post was not for any social media event, this was my own personal choice to have a meal here!!

But we are available for Social Media work at anytime. Be it bakeries, restaurants, festivals, wineries, galleries, cafes, coffee shops, markets or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!

                                                            Leone & John Fabre
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The Glenlyon Cemetery

Last week decided that the weather was improving enough to continue with my "Photo Drives" and thought Glenlyon and surrounding area would be perfect to explore.

On this day had lunch at the popular Glenlyon General Store and then a walk around the Cemetery seemed to be the most logical thing to do afterwards!

The cemetery is located on the NE side of town out along Holcombe Road.

In July of this year, The Age had an article on the six reasons to visit Glenlyon, one of them being:

''Would the person who stole the gates from our beautiful little cemetery,'' read the letter in the local newspaper, ''please return them. No questions asked.'' The Glenlyon Cemetery (Holcombe Road) is a sheltered little spot on a hill facing west. A popular place for mushroom foragers in autumn, it's at present filled with daffodil and jonquil shoots about to erupt into flower. Someone recently stole the wrought-iron gates.

The following are a few general images of the Cemetery, but do visit this peaceful little cemetery when next you are in the area!

If you are looking for information regarding the Cemetery (other than images of headstones) then check the following website titled:

GLENLYON COMMUNITY WEBSITE

There are quite a few images of headstones from Glenlyon Cemetery located on the BillionGraves site, check here for

GLENLYON CEMETERY

Looking for a particular headstone at Glenlyon Cemetery, then check the following URL for information:

GLENLYON CEMETERY HEADSTONE PHOTOGRAPHS


a blog post on the drive from Daylesford to Glenlyon is HERE





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up the Wallaby Track ....

The Central Highlands and Goldfields area of Victoria provide ideal cycling and walking conditions. There are some fantastic hill and bush tracks for mountain bikers as well as great options for tourers.

Whatever transport you use to get around the Goldfields area, you will find walking is ideal. The network of National and State Parks all have walks ranging from short loops around the picnic grounds to overnight expeditions like the 18klm Pyrenees Walking Track in the Pyrenees State Forest or the 21 klm Beeripmo Walk in the Mt Buangor State Park.

The premier walk - the Great Dividing Trail, also called the Goldfields Track - traverses the Goldfields from Bendigo to Daylesford where it splits into two legs: from Daylesford to Ballarat and from Daylesford to Bacchus Marsh.

magic scenery wherever you look!

Located in central Victoria, west of Melbourne, this 270 kilometer trail passes through what was once the richest gold mining area of the world. The trail design itself is very unusual as it has three arms, which meet at the historic town of Daylesford. This means that if you walk this as a through track, you will only complete two of the arms.

Smaller sections are also designed to be accessible to day trippers.

The Goldfields Trail - is a multi-use track through the historical Goldfields region of Victoria to the north-west and west of Melbourne. The trail passes along the southern most parts of Australia's Great Dividing Range. The trail combines goldrush heritage and natural beauty. Its a pathway to the Goldfields hidden treasures!

The community managed trail has four major tracks, each of which is in turn separated into thermic walks that can be easily accessed for a day or shorter walks. Many sections of the trail are suitable for the casual stroller and there are some very rugged parts as well, such as the Lerderderg section.


The Wallaby Track (92klm) formerly known as Federation Track, runs from Buninyong, via Ballarat, Creswick and Mollongghip to Daylesford.

so much to see! so much to do!

 

most of the above information comes from the above book as well as the following URL's:

1. The Goldfields Track - Wallaby Track

2. The Goldfields Track - Wallaby Track

for maps and guides click HERE

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Daylesford Spa Country Railway - restoration works

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In one of the local newspaper's for this week - The Advocate 5th September - I noticed an article stating that the Daylesford Spa Country Railway was advising that works have commenced to restore train services between Musk and Bullarto.

Please take note of this when traveling in this area over the next few weeks.

Particular care should be taken at any of the rail crossings and please approach each with caution, in particular at the Dolphins Road and South Bullarto Road crossings.

The Daylesford Spa Country Railway (which is operated by the Central Highlands Tourist Railway) is a volunteer-operated 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a section of the formerly disused and dismantled Daylesford line.

It presently operates between Daylesford and the hamlet of Bullarto, although the section between Musk and Bullarto is currently closed due to bushfire damage sustained in early 2009 it is now in the process of being restored.

Website for the Daylesford Spa Country Railway is HERE complete with all the information you may need when visiting the area.



                                                              stay alert and drive safe

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Road trip (Ballan to Daylesford)

Everyone loves a road trip, short or long, there is nothing better than getting in the vehicle and heading off into the far blue yonder ....

Yesterday we drove from Ballan to Bendigo (in Victoria, Australia) to see the Grace Kelly Exhibition. It only took 1.5 hours to get to Bendigo, the weather was perfect and it was a great day to be out.

This post shows the images from Ballan to Daylesford only.
We (here in Australia) are only a week away from the start of the southern hemisphere winter. But even though it is late Autumn, we are still experiencing some lovely sunny days and yesterday was one of them.

We have noticed since being back in Australia that the cost of 'eating out' is exorbitant, so for any road trip, we now pack a 'picnic lunch' to tide us over. Yesterday was no different. A couple of sandwiches and a few drinks for us, a bottle of water and a few treats for Oscar and we were ready for our day to Bendigo.

Many people that have not been to Australia have no idea what the roads are like, the scenery etc, so this post is to show some of my friends what a country road here in Victoria is like!

Most country roads are a 'normal' two lane, bitumen paved roadway. Speed limits through the small towns or villages is usually 50k's and on these open roads, 100k's.

When traveling these roads, one must always be aware of cyclists that also frequent these 'quiet' country roads, the wildlife (usually Kangaroo's!) from dusk to dawn and certainly be aware of the school buses that travel these routes and stop frequently to let the children on or off the bus.


Next part of the journey is from Daylesford to Bendigo .... which will be the next post.