Best picnic spot
There are many beautiful places for spreading out the blanket in Daylesford. Find a spot around Lake Daylesford, but watch for the ducks and swans who might want to share your lunch, or head to the town’s highest point, Wombat Hill and the historic botanic gardens, dotted with rare species of tree.
Best walks
You shouldn’t leave town without taking a walk around the lake. For more committed hikers, Daylesford is the starting point for three sectors of the Great Dividing Trail (www.gdt.org.au), where you can wander through the bush.
Shopping
The main street of Daylesford has a huge range of cute homewares boutiques, antique stores (a favourite is Junk Style, upstairs at 67 Vincent Street) and art galleries. If you’re in town on the weekend, do what everyone does and head to the Daylesford Sunday Market, held at the old railway station (it now only services a vintage tourist train to Bullarto), where hundreds of stalls sell everything from local arts and crafts and regional produce to pre-loved clothes. Stock the pantry and picnic basket at Cliffy’s Emporium (30 Raglan Street) or Harvest Café (29 Albert Street), the local organic provedore.
Activities
Set aside a few hours to enjoy a soak and treatment at Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa (www.hepburnbathhouse.com) at the nearby village of Hepburn Springs. It has been an important part of the community since 1895, but a recent multimillion-dollar makeover – the original bathhouse is now the relaxation lounge – has seen the addition of luxurious communal and private bathing facilities, a salt therapy pool, relaxation deck overlooking the bush and day spa. There are more than 60 natural mineral springs in the area, and a multitude of day spas and alternative practitioners, so there’s no excuse not to leave relaxed.
Smith Tip
While Daylesford is spa central, sometimes you just don’t want to leave your relaxing confines or, indeed, put all your kit back on after a massage. So why not organise to have a massage therapist cater, on site, to your needs? Jenny Swan at Abandon Stress (+61 (0) 417 149 067; www.abandonstress.com.au) can come to the house and perform a range of massages, as well as facials and tarot readings.
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Smith extra at The White House
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