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Sarah Cooks: Daylesford Weekend
Accommodation

Daylesford Weekend

10/07/2018 10:15:00 PM

Lake Daylesford

Back in June we had the most wonderful weekend in Daylesford. It was kinda an impromptu decision - we were at our friend Jess' house for dinner, and her parents had just come back from Daylesford and regaled us with stories of all the fabulous food they'd eaten. Right then and there we decided we had to plan a trip to Daylesford! Sandra booked a cute little AirB&B, we put Jess in charge of choosing and booking activities, I did the driving, and that was it! In our friendship circle, it's usually Sandra and I do the planning (slight control-freak tendencies?), but it was really nice to switch things up and just go with the flow.

We ate lots of delicious food, drank wine by the fire, took nice walks, shopped, and just relaxed. It was so lovely! On our first trip to Daylesford seven years ago, we were less than impressed by the food and bathing we experienced (see here, here and here), but I'm pleased to say that on this trip everything was fantastic - great choices all round, Jess!

We had dinner on the Friday night at the Farmers Arms (1 East Street, Daylesford VIC 3460), a super popular pub and Daylesford institution. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and the food was delicious!

Swordfish at the Farmers Arms

Jess kindly let me have a taste of her pork belly dish, and it was incredible! The meat was succulent, the crackling was super crispy, the mash was creamy, and the sauce was just divine. It was literally the perfect dish. Would legitimately drive back to Daylesford just for this dish.

Pork Belly at the Farmers Arms

The next day we had an early bird bathing experience at The Mineral Spa at Peppers (124 Main Road, Hepburn Springs, VIC 3461), which was wonderfully relaxing and worth the splurge. (I would definitely recommend The Mineral Spa at Peppers over the larger Hepburn Bathhouse down the road just FYI, as the baths are nicer and they have a better range of facilities like sauna, infrared sauna, steam-room etc).

We had breakfast at Larder Cafe (57A Vincent St, Daylesford VIC, 3460), which had excellent coffee and hearty brunch dishes.

Drinks at Larder Cafe

Huevos La Flamenca - Spanish baked eggs with Istra chorizo, tomato, capsicum, potato braise and toast. (GFO/DF)

After a little walk through the cute shops in town, we stopped in for a little wine tasting at Passing Clouds Winery (30 Roddas Ln, Musk VIC 3461). The tasting was good, and Jess bought a couple of bottles to take home. They also had a very nice looking dining room in there - perhaps a good one to visit next time!

Passing Estate Winery

And on the way back to the cabin, we got supplies: get charcuterie and bread from the supermarket, and cheeeeeese from The Fromagerie (22 Raglan St, Daylesford VIC, 3460). The staff in there were really nice and patiently answered our questions, gave us tastes and helped us choose our cheeses. Love!

The Fromagerie

Yummm....

The Fromagerie

Back at the cabin it was time to relax...

Crab deelie at the cabin

Cheese and charcuterie

There were also these adorable tame kookaburras that often come and hang around the balcony. The cabin provided bird food, and we spent ages feeding them, taking photos and generally cooing over how beautiful they are. They were super friendly and ate right out of our hands!

Kookaburra 

Kookaburra

Magpie

That night, dinner was takeaway pasta from Rubens (70 Main Rd, Hepburn VIC, 3461). Comfort food to the max!

Pasta and wine at the cabin

Breakfast the next morning was at Blue Bean Love (115 Main Road, Hepburn Springs, VIC 3461), a chilled out cafe and bar on the main street of Hepburn Springs. Sandra and I had visited back in 2015 when the cafe was called Red Star and enjoyed it, so we were looking forward to brekky here.

Blue Bean Love Cafe

Blue Bean Love Cafe

Blue Bean Love Cafe

Drinks at Blue Bean Love Cafe - magic, cappuccino, cold brew

I ordered the waffles again, but they weren't as good as last time - they were a little tough and not particularly flavourful. Both Sandra and Jess made much better brunch choices, choosing big breakfasts. The hash browns and scrambled eggs, in particular, were excellent. Major order envy!

Waffles at Blue Bean Love Cafe

Breakfast at Blue Bean Love Cafe

Smashed Avo at Blue Bean Love

After that we needed to walk off the breakfast, so popped down to the Daylesford Sunday Market (18 Raglan St, Daylesford, VIC 3460). There were lots of great stalls and it was a fun way to pass the time.

Daylesford Sunday Market

Tea stand

Pink Muesli!

Mushroom thingo at the Mushroom stand at the Daylesford Sunday Market

Pine Mushrooms at the Daylesford Sunday Market

The chocolate brownies at Danny's Farm stand are ridiculous. I regretted only buying one!

Danny's Farm stand, Daylesford Sunday Market

And finally, we took a lovely walk around Lake Daylesford before heading home. It's so beautiful there!

Flowers, Lake Daylesford

Tree Mushroom, Lake Daylesford

Lake Daylesford

And that was it! What a fabulous relaxing weekend. Thanks heaps to Jess for organising the itinerary and being generally awesome!

Do you like Daylesford? Do you have any favourite foodie destinations there? Do you prefer to pre-plan your weekends in advance or go with the flow?

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2 comments

  1. I loved my visit to Daylesford! We stayed at a gorgeous hotel with the most interesting bathroom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh cute! I love quirky and interesting hotels :)

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