There’s a lot to see when you head northwest out of Victoria’s capital, Melbourne and go up through the Macedon ranges and out to the Central Highlands of Victoria. You’ll find beaut towns like Kyneton, Woodend, Trentham, Daylesford, Clunes and Castlemaine – packed with gourmet produce, clever artisans, serene spas and loads of gastro-pubs. Book ending these gems to the east and west are the larger regional towns of Bendigo and Ballarat, each with their own charms. We’ve taken many a road trip in our van to this area and here are some of the highlights:

Mighty Macedon, Mount Macedon and Riddell’s Creek

Head to the Gisborne-Macedon-Mount Macedon-Riddell’s Creek area in Autumn when the streets are littered with vibrant leaves and the Autumn festival is in full swing. We caught the last day of the festival in April and whilst a lot of trees had lost their leaves there was still plenty of colour around. There are some pretty impressive estates on Mount Macedon and three of them open up their gardens or houses for the public for special events. We planned to visit Forest Glade gardens but there is only parking for about 10 cars along the road outside the estate and both times we drove past it was full and with people waiting so we headed up to Duneira estate a little further up Mt Macedon road and drove up their long driveway to the ample car park. Duneira was built in 1872 as a country retreat and we wandered around the 16 acres of open garden where we discovered some really unusual species including the Himalayan Holy, very rare in cultivation and a relic of a time when collecting exotic and rare trees was a sign of prosperity! The other delightful part of the Macedon Autumn Festival is the pie trail – with establishments making a special pie for the month of April for visitors to enjoy. We stopped at the Mount Macedon Trading Post and enjoyed their lamb and vegetable pie on the verandah in the sun before heading to the avenue of honour in Macedon to walk under the 154 Pin Oaks – which were now almost bare.  We then headed to Riddell’s Creek for Devonshire Tea at the quaint Dromkeen gallery and tearooms. The tea rooms also house an old children’s library as ell as a gallery and we enjoyed looking at the art after we devoured our fluffy scones.

Terrific Trentham

Located halfway between Daylesford and Woodend, Trentham is a little gem which has blossomed since Covid-19. Trentham’s character-filled main street offers two fantastic pubs, the Cosmopolitan Hotel with its delicious wood fired pizzas and Hotel Trentham as well as a little further east you’ll find  the Pig and whistle with hearty country fare and a big open fire. If you want to go up a notch try French country kitchen, Du Fermier. For bread lovers there’s RedBeard Bakery which makes crunchy sourdough in the original 1891 oven. Nearby to Trentham are some great walks and the picturesque Trentham Falls is the  highest single drop of any waterfall in Central Victoria. Plunging more than 32 metres down a basalt cliff, it has formed a ravine several hundred metres long. 

Happening Ballarat

Ballarat is a lively town with a lot of tourist attractions including Sovereign Hill which recreates the 1850’s gold rush in the area, Ballarat Wildlife Park, the Art Gallery of Ballarat which holds some impressive exhibitions, and the Eureka Centre.

Our favourite was walking around Lake Wendouree in late autumn amongst a litter of golden leaves and also the Lydiard street heritage walking trail past some glorious heritage buildings. We also enjoyed ducking into the little laneways with cute bars and had a grand feast in the beautiful Lola restaurant and a delicious tapas-style dinner at the groovy Miegas bar.

Delicious Bendigo and Bridgewater on Loddon

 Bendigo is a little smaller than Ballarat and a lot more relaxed. We’ve visited on many occasions – to see the Archibald exhibition, for Groove in the Moo music festival and on our way through to Heathcoate wine region. Theres a good range of delicious places to eat – so many in fact that Bendigo has been recognised as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. Some of the top choices include Terrae, The Woodhouse and The Dispensary.

On our last trip to the area we stayed 30 min further north at a terrific caravan park at Bridgewater on Loddon. This park lies along the Loddon river and we enjoyed lighting a fire as the sun glowed a golden sunset behind the trees. There’s a great Loddon river walk that takes you to a beautiful swimming hole and the bakery in town is famous for its pies.

To the east of Bendigo is the charming town of Heathcote – the  gateway to the Heathcote wine area. There’s a tasting room in town that offers a sample of what’s available on the wine trail but doesn’t beat a visit to the real vineyards.

Creative Castlemaine

Castlemaine is another original goldrush town with some impressive buildings – some of which now house a flourishing arts scene.

We took our dog on a van trip to Castlemaine as they have a great caravan park that backs on to the botanical gardens.  We loved wandering around the Old Mill that houses a brewery, artists in residence and some cute shops and cafes. The botanical gardens are beautiful, especially at sunset and the Farmers Market is chock full of delicious local produce.

Delightful Daylesford

Daylesford has always been the place to go for girls’ weekends, romantic getaways and soaking in the nearby Hepburn Springs. There are loads of boutique accommodation options including the famous Lake House which sits on a billabong of the lake. I love walking around the lake via the Grove of Gratitude and looking for the little stones with words like Love and Be Kinds written on them hidden amongst the rocks and greenery.  There’s also the charming old convent to explore – good for gift shopping or a delicious lunch –  and nearby, the walk up to Wombat Hill for views back over Daylesford.

If you’re heading up to Daylesford in July or August you should catch Borealis on the Lake, which is a light show over the lake using an extraordinary mixture of art, technology, and nature. The calm waters of the lake transform into a canvas for a visual spectacle that mimics the Northern Lights – or the Southern Aurora and is quite mesmerising.

Clever Kyneton

We first discovered Kyneton when we went to the Lost Trades fair that started here. This is one clever town packed with artisans practicing their crafts from cooking to carpentry, eco-printing to lead lighting The Lost Trades fair is now held in a variety of towns but the Old Auction Rooms still hold craft workshops and there’s no shortage of shops and markets selling locally made items.

Kyneton has also become known as a culinary hotspot. Lined with bluestone buildings, historic Piper Street is home to lauded restaurants, an award-winning gin distillery and cool cocktail bars, along with antique stores, art galleries, boutiques and artisan’s workshops. There’s also the lovely Campaspe river walk that goes through the Botanical gardens and is particularly colourful in Autumn.