Delightful Daylesford

After an enjoyable weekend in Melbourne catching up with friends the first spot on our Victorian road trip was the delightful town of Daylesford .

Daylesford is about 100 kms. north west of Melbourne . The town was first established in 1852 as a gold mining town but today is known for its numerous spas, restaurants and galleries and its numerous bed and breakfast accomodations.

The wombat Hill Botanical Gardens , where the above photo was taken, are built on top of an extinct volcano. The gardens with their extensive views over the town celebrated their 150th. anniversary in 2013.

It was the perfect time to visit for the Autumn colours. Most of the houses date back to the mid to late 1800’s. This charming street was just around the corner from where we stayed.

The heritage listed Albert Hotel and Spa suites is where we stayed for our two nights . The hotel dates back to 1850 and has been lovingly restored by Ziggy, an Olympian and Commonwealth wrestling champion. We stayed in the spa suites , which are in a converted warehouse space. I really liked this type of renovation , giving me ideas for the future maybe.

A typical building of the gold rush era, with its decorative wrought iron trims.

This is the entrance to Paradise Bookshop , always a must visit for us. The shop is in an old bank building and jam packed with both new and second hand books on any subject you may desire.

John enjoying the view over Lake Daylesford, a man made lake built in 1929.

Dressed for a walk around the lake in my Moyuru check skirt, black sweater and Caroline Moore crop leather jacket and comfy shoes, also adding my red beret , bought in Paris and red leather gloves another souvenir bought in Bilbao, Spain.

The Convent Gallery was built in 1860 as a private residence . It became the Holy Cross Convent and Boarding school for girls in the 1880’s and served that purpose until its closure in 1973. The building fell in to disrepair until it was purchased and later restored by artist Tina Banitska in 1988. We had the pleasure of an introduction to the property by the lady herself, although we didn’t know this until later.

After an excellent lunch in the aptly named Bad Habits Cafe we were able to explore the gallery , set over three floors, the chapel , function rooms and garden.

 

This tiny space was a nun’s bedroom, one of two spaces showing the convents past life.

The convent gallery is no doubt a popular spot for weddings and now has lavish function rooms but I loved the simple sign below, says it all.

Apologies for missing everyone’s posts over the last couple of weeks, I did set off with good intentions but you know how it goes, hope to catch up over the next few days.

Joining Patti for Visible Monday, Mica for Weekday Link Up , Jess for Turning Tuesday and Nancy for Fancy Friday Link Up.