Neighbourhood

Buzzy restaurants

The Yarra Valley is known for it's world class wineries and restaurants. These are too numerous to mention here but a favourite of ours is Stones of the Yarra Valley. Our helpful information folder is full of good restaurant and winery tips.

Cool bars

Our local pub has a beer garden and serves great food & is a mere 5 minute walk away. Plenty of pubs and bars in the area. Sunday afternoon live music across the road (towards the river, behind the Wild Thyme cafe is a very enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends.

Cozy cafés

Warburton is 'cafe city', with great cafes right on your doorstep, serving quality coffee (Australians are known to be fussy about their coffee so you know it is going to be good! There are plenty of cafes in town and beyond serving quality, fresh (often local) produce and cuisine. If you are a 'foodie', you have come to the right place.

Retail therapy

Lots of quirky, artsy shops and studios in the town and region. Warburton has a thriving Arts culture with book shops, a small, independent cinema, artisan, gift and clothes shops, all outside your door.

Bit of culture

The town hosts several Festivals, such as the Jazz Festival and Film Festival, amongst others. There are museums, galleries and studios highlighting the art, culture and history of the region. Our cottage, built in 1906 has a history as a 'railway cottage', accommodating the train drivers who would drive the steam engines up from Melbourne - the main form of travel in days past. The many wineries in the region produce and serve world class food & wine. Then there is the city of Melbourne to take day trips to for even more culture and sight seeing. A day trip is more than pleasant, with travel taking about 1.5 hrs, following a very straight forward route or take a city hotel just for a night, if you'd prefer to see more of Melbourne that way.

Walks in the park

We are nestled between two green spaces in the main street of the town, with the park next door providing us with a canopy of shade from it's 100+ year old oak. This shades our main deck where the big outdoor table sits and is a favourite spot for the birdlife, especially the Rosellas and Parrots, who will come into the garden to visit. Warburton is essentially built in a valley, so there are mountains all around you. The bed in the master bedroom is placed so that you wake up to mountain views. Everywhere you look, there is 'green' - from our delightful cottage gardens to the rainforest , the riverbank with it's Mountain Ash native trees and stunning tree ferns, the timeless Australian bush & the National Parks all around this area of stunning natural beauty and significance. There are cycle and walking trails just outside the gate. Swimming and picnics down at the river (1 min walk) in summer or snow play on nearby Mt Donna Buang (15 mins drive) in winter. Stunning colours abound in spring and autumn in this picturesque, quaint little town, where nature is right on your doorstep.

Spot of exercise

The Warburton Trail (some 40kms of trail that leads back to outer Melbourne) stops near our cottage. Bike hire and advice is on hand if you'd like to ride the Trail. Ride all or just some of it, stopping at a cafe or pub to break the journey. There are bush tracks, local town walks, rainforest walks, and the river for swimming, fishing, canoeing or tubing (we keep big rubber tubes at the house) for outdoor fun. The region has ballooning, horse riding, winery tours, night time nature walks to entice & captivate you. The town has tennis courts (1 min walk) and 18 hole golf course with fully licensed club rooms. It is worth a visit to the golf course, even if you don't play as it is set in a stunning location , with sub tropical rainforest as a backdrop. Very pretty!

Day tripping

Wineries, museums, antique shops or a bike ride or a rainforest walk are all within easy reach. The city of Melbourne is also close enough to reach for day trips - 75 km away & a very easy, direct route to the cbd. You can reach the city using our bus and train service - door to door or take a drive in - around 1.5 hours & a pleasant, straight forward trip through prime farmland, orchards & winery country. Roads here are excellent, well maintained and well signed. There are full day winery tours where you can be collected and dropped home again. Plenty to do for all tastes, in all seasons really!