Clunes

Queens Park Fountain, Clunes

 Last week we went up to Clunes which is an old gold mining  town north of Ballarat, with a population of only 900, now Clunes was the original town where gold was discovered in Victoria. It is dotted with beautiful little bric-a-brac and book shops and relies largely on its tourism appeal for survival. There are many bead and breakfasts around the town and small cottages which can be rented for a weekend or two.

We stayed at a beautiful little place called Ellas cottage, which is on the outskirts of the town about a 5 min walk to the main street. That will give you an indication of how small the town actually is!

Ellas Cottage

We went in the middle of winter and this part of Victoria is not known for its mild winters but thankfully where we stayed had a beautiful gas fire and heaters in all the bedrooms.  The cottage was cosey and warm and although outside was a little cold and miserable it was impossible to resist the chance to go exploring in such a quaint old village.  There are some beautiful homes and gardens here and it is well worth a visit. 

The fireplace in the lounge

Massive Silver Birches in Queens Park, the likes of which you would never get in Melbourne as its just too dry.Here though, they grow to about 20 metres!

View of the town hall from the main street.

A huge old Willow tree overlooks one of the many B & B's in town.

An old wagon like ancient garden art sits in parkland near an old horse trough which has been converted to a garden bed.

Beautiful big trees line the streets coming into Clunes.

A simple garden with majestic trees framing the driveway.

The local Hairdersser...... I couldnt resist putting this in !!!!

So thats Clunes, its about 30 minutes from Hepburn Springs, Daylesford and Ballarat. Nice little place to visit! And if you like second hand shops up here is the place to go!