All aboard....

for a weekend at the end of the line. Where are they you might be asking. With the Queens Birthday long weekend coming up we decided that we should find a new part of Victoria to explore. After finding that most places I could think of were booked out I did a trawl through wotif one night as a last resort. Just started at the top and went all the way to the bottom looking at anything that sounded interesting. And here we are at The End of the Line Accommodation staying in the Governor's Carriage. You will find this very different B & B in a little place called Blampied just 12 mins out of Daylesford.

The Governor's Carriage is a former Melbourne 'Red Rattler' built in 1913. It was one of the famous fleet of Tait Cars that serviced the suburban network for many years. Car No 253T was removed from service in the 1980's. Many of these old treasures were burnt at the Newport yards until the EPA complained about the smoke pollution so they were brought to Newlyn, near Daylesford, and the burning continued. It was here that a good Aussie tradition kicked in and these old carriages could be purchased for 'a slab' and so many were saved from the fire and ended up being used as storage containers on farms.

Our carriage was rescued in 1997, brought to Blampied where it was gutted and an extensive renovation restored it to the way it is today. The bedhead in the bedroom was originally 2 single bedheads from the Commissioner's Carriage of NSW and the carpet made at the Wool Museum in Geelong, is a remnant from the State Apartments in Melbourne's Government House. I knew I had seen it somewhere before! A track was laid, a platform built and the Governor's Carriage was ready for visitors. It was just a lovely place to stay. Set in a bush block surrounded by trees it felt just like we were travelling through the Australian Countryside all weekend. To complete the railway theme a replica Signal Box has been built at the end of the station and that also accommodates 2 people. All in all a wonderful place to stay. Quiet, private and quirky. The ideal requirements for a long weekend away.

We arrived late on Friday night so we could make the most of the next few days. After dragging ourselves away the next morning we went into Daylesford to have a look around. It is a lovely town well known for it's Mineral Springs and Spa's that have become very popular over the last decade or so. We had a wander through the main street and a look around but decided that as the crowds grew we would continue our exploring elsewhere and headed off to the bush. Our first stop was Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, very nice and the avenue of old Elms very impressive even without leaves. We climbed to the top of the lookout tower to see the view over the surrounding countryside. Jubilee Lake was our next stop and we had a walk around here being stalked by a funky duck for some of the way. Very cute with a real Punk hairdo. We found a pretty good looking C'van park here so will put that on the list for another time in the future. From there we went in search of some lunch and the Daylesford Inn was the winner here. My sweet potato soup & Bill's cauliflower soup was yummy, filled a hole and the wood burning fire in the dining room warmed us up. After lunch we went to see Sailors Falls and got our fair share of exercise as we climbed down and then back up to see the falls and surrounding bushland. Not very much water running but still worth a look. We headed back to our cosy carriage after that and chilled out for a couple of hours before driving back to the Daylesford Hotel for a yummy dinner. Steak & Kidney pie and a nice glass of Red finished the day of in fine style.

The very funny movie Morning Glory, with a really grumpy Harrison Ford as a Breakfast Show Host, kept us entertained for the night and it wasn't long after that the lure of the electric blanket won and it was bed time for two weary adventurers.

See you in the morning........