Food & Wine

By on Dec 16, 2011 in Food and Wine, Weekend Getaway | Leave a Comment

Plenty of excellent food and wine in Daylesford to choose from

Daylesford – Endless Choices for Food and Wine

Welcome to Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges. If you are interested in wonderful produce and great food and wine, then this is the place for you.

Follow your appetite to the region that takes indulgence to another level, with wonderful seasonal fare and great wine celebrated in every town in the region.

Journey to The Lake House, Daylesford’s gourmet heart in a region known for its highly-rated restaurants, but Hepburn Springs, Kyneton and Woodend have also become foodie havens. The dedication to quality extends even to the smaller towns, with attractive cafés popping up in Trentham, Clunes and Malmsbury.

Delight in the pristine environment, fertile volcanic plains and clear mineral springs that provide the backdrop to your food and wine adventure. Fill your boot with produce so fresh it goes straight from the paddock to your plate. Be sure to follow signs down country lanes to small but internationally recognised family vineyards.

You’ll run into many like minded folk. It may be a dedicated orchardist, a beekeeper, a winemaker or a chef. In our villages it may be the person on the other side of the counter or the bloke pulling the beer who’ll tell you where you should have dinner, who’s producing a good drop and who bakes the best bread. Keep your ear to the ground and you’re bound to make some wonderful discoveries.

Macedon Ranges and Daylesford

The Macedon Ranges and Daylesford’s pristine, beautiful environment, rich fertile volcanic plains, distinct seasons and abundance of crystal clear mineral springs flowing freely from the ground provide the perfect backdrop for your truly excellent food and wine adventure.

So get out there! We look forward to meeting you at our cellar doors and farm-gates, or having you enjoy the fruits of our labours in our local stores, cafes, pubs and restaurants.

Art & Culture

By on Dec 8, 2011 in Art & Culture |

The Convent Gallery at Daylesford has wonderful art to peruseIndulge your artistic side in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges, and if you’re not creative, a trip to the region could inspire your inner artist. Discover the art and culture of the region.

Home to artists of all kinds

Join other day-trippers seeking inspiration around Daylesford, home to painters, sculptors, ceramicists, metalworkers, glassblowers, print-makers and visiting artists.

An arty tour

Your art and culture tour will start with Daylesford’s Convent Gallery, featuring local art and occasional exhibitions by international artists.

Nearby Pantechnicon Gallery will get the creative juices flowing, or check out the Strawbale Gallery in Woodend and Lancefield’s Mad Gallery. Many artists open their studios to the public, so grab a souvenir that’s bound to appreciate – and be appreciated.

Culture and history

Your visits to farms, wineries, restaurants and galleries around Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges will have piqued your interest about local history and culture. Call into a specialist museum to discover how these vibrant communities got started and learn the stories of early settlers.

The arts and culture vibe in Daylesford is strong with a quirky sense of humour. Many galleries, restaurants and cafes feature local artist’s work, and crafts people can be seen in their studios or out and about the town.

The most famous is the Convent Gallery, which as the name suggests is a converted convent, which still retains the character and historical points of interest from it’s days as a convent, combined with stunning views over Daylesford and fabulous paintings and sculpture works.

Wandering around the gallery is far more interesting than the standard gallery, as you wind your way around there are glimpses of gorgeous scenery, well manicured gardens and a look in to the austere life of a nun. Don Wreford Glass Blowing studio gives a very different aspect of the arts, with the viewing studio located right in the workshop, so you may even be lucky enough to see him at work!

Daylesford and The Macedon Ranges

By on Nov 29, 2011 in What's Happening | Leave a Comment
Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges

One hour north-west of Melbourne, the rolling hills and farmland of Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges are dotted with charming towns offering an array of health and beauty treatments, scenic surrounds and gardens, a thriving arts and crafts community and award winning food and wine.

Home to the greatest concentration of naturally occurring mineral springs in Australia and an array of wonderful spa centres, the Daylesford and Hepburn Springs area is noted as a centre for relaxation, health, wellbeing and of course pampering. There are also excellent galleries, antique shops and fine restaurants.

Impressive mansions, striking landscapes and some of Victoria’s finest gardens combine to create the old world ambience of the nearby Macedon Ranges. Tour Mount Macedon’s heritage gardens, explore the 19th century streetscapes of Woodend and Kyneton lined with galleries, antique shops and craft outlets or visit the legendary Hanging Rock, the haunting backdrop to The Picnic at Hanging Rock book and film.

The Macedon Ranges is also a cool-climate wine region known for producing outstanding sparkling wine, pinot noir and chardonnay. There are more than 40 wineries inviting visitors to sample their product and there’s also an abundance of local produce, from tasty meats to wild mushrooms, crisp apples and succulent berries. There are more great cellar doors in and around Sunbury producing excellent shiraz and cabernet.

 

Beautiful photos have been shared of Central Victoria by Flickr members and a group named Central Victoria was created for image sharing. We share these with you here as a gallery.

Macedon Ranges Festivals and Markets

By on Nov 27, 2011 in Art & Culture, Food and Wine, Weekend Getaway, What's Happening | Leave a Comment
Macedon Ranges COMMUNITY MARKETS

Markets are a way of life in the Macedon Ranges, and have been for years as locals bought their produce direct from the producer.Markets are a way of life in the Macedon Ranges, and have been for years as locals bought their produce direct from the producer. It used to be pretty simple, and it is still is…farmers pick their fruit and vegetables, harvest their honey, make their wine, bottle their conserves, and then bring them to the villages for sale.

With so many choices, markets, festivals, colour and diversity, you could spend most weekends sampling the cuisine, fresh produce and handicrafts of the region, not to mention the wineries, music and arts!

Nowadays, people from neighbouring regions flock to the delightful range of farmers and craft markets throughout the Macedon Ranges, guaranteed of top-quality produce and hoping for a bargain or two. The produce may be a bit more sophisticated – such as flavoured olive oils, delicious goats cheese and tempting sweets – but the down-to-earth warmth and open friendliness of the sellers hasn’t changed one bit.

Regional Markets

Gisborne Olde Time Market
When: First Sunday of the month
Where: Service roads on Hamilton and Aitken streets

Sunbury Family Market
When: First Saturday of month
Where: Sunbury Community Centre, Elizabeth Drive

Sugar and Spice Children’s Market
Where: St Ambrose Hall, Woodend, September 4
Website: sugarandspicechildrens market.blogspot.com

Hanging Rock market
When: Next market October 30, 10am-3pm. Cost $5 a car.

Gisborne All Seasons market
When: First Sunday of month
Where: Gisborne Village Shopping Centre

Macedon Ranges Local Festivals

Hume Festival of Music
A month-long celebration of music, date to be announced.

Sunbury Wine Region Festival
Taste your way through Hume’s award-winning vineyards, August 27-28.
Web: sunburywines.com.au

Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival, September 1-11
Web: kynetondaffodilarts.org.au

Sunfest, March 17-18
Web: sunfest.org.au

Woodend Winter Arts festival
Web: woodendwinterartsfestival. org.au

MACEDON RANGES FARMERS MARKETS

Highlands Farmers Market
When: Third Saturday of month
Where: North Shore Rd, Craigieburn

Sunbury
When: Second Saturday of month
Where: The Gatehouse, 1 Macedon St

Riddells Creek
When: Third Saturday of month
Where: Riddells Creeek Primary School, Main Rd

Lancefield
When: Fourth Saturday of month
Where: In the Centre Plantation, High St

Woodend
Third Sunday of month in High St

Kyneton
Where: Second Saturday of month
When: St Pauls Park, Piper St
Fruit and vegetable swap
Every fortnight at the Homestead Community and Learning Centre
Phone: 9205 2760

Woodend Teddy Bear Show

By on Nov 26, 2011 in Art & Culture |
Woodend Teddy Bear Show – Victoria’s Premier Teddy Event

 

The 2011 Woodend Teddy Bear Show will be held at St Ambrose Hall, Templeton Street (cnr Anslow St), Woodend on Sunday, October 30 from 10am to 4pm.It is a long way from Woodend to Cambodia but each year Victoria’s ‘town at the end of the woods’ forges a stronger link with like-minded people in South East Asia caring for bears who have been abused, left for dead or earmarked for consumption.

They include bears like Dewi, who was rescued by Free the Bears Fund Inc. as a young orphaned cub in 2000. A Cambodia Sun Bear, she was confiscated from poachers who were planning to sell her to the restaurant or exotic pet trade.

Now cared for in the Free the Bears sanctuary at the Phnom Tamao Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Rescue Centre, Dewi has grown into a very beautiful, confident and much loved bear.

In 2005, Kerri Botwood opened Kerri’s Bundle of Bears, in Woodend’s main street. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of customers, her lifetime passion for teddy bears and a lack of opportunities for teddy bear artists to gather and invite the general public to enjoy their work, Kerri organised the inaugural Woodend Teddy Bear Show held the following year. It was an instant success, with stalls fully booked each year since.

Free the Bears Fund is involved in projects throughout South-east Asia A major objective of the annual event is to educate the community about the world’s threatened bear population. Free the Bears Inc. and Animals Asia representatives attend to raise awareness and support for their work.

Their messages are delivered in many of the posters produced by school children that adorn the venue as part of a competition.

Proceeds from the show have enabled Kerri to sponsor several bears residing in South East Asian sanctuaries.

Kerri’s Bundle of Bears is an enchanting haven for teddy lovers and anyone yearning for a dose of childhood nostalgia. Quality ranges available in store include Charlie Bear, Steiff, Hermann,  Gund and Settler Bears.

“Teddy Bears help mend broken hearts, rekindle memories and bring loved ones together!” says Kerri.

Woodend Teddy Bear Show will feature the best home-made teddies. The event attracts artists from all over Australia and New Zealand, about 800 teddy lovers and is supported by the magazine Bear Creations.The 2011 Woodend Teddy Bear Show will be held at St Ambrose Hall, Templeton Street (cnr Anslow St), Woodend on Sunday, October 30 from 10am to 4pm. Entry $6, Concession $4, Kids $3 or Free (under 6 accompanied by an adult).

Contact Kerri Botwood 5427 4944 or 0417030149

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