Hilltops: girls weekend heaven is just 90 minutes away
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With opportunities for pampering, shopping, great food and even better wine, The Hilltops Region is your next girls’ weekend destination.
‘A girls’ weekend destination just 90 minutes from Canberra? Yeah right,’ I hear you scoff.
It’s true. Being a Canberran does require a certain level of tolerance for long-distance driving. Melbourne? Eight hours. Sydney? Three-and-a-half. The coast? Two. The snow? Two-and-a-half.
But what if we told you that we had a weekend of coffee, yoga, wine, flower arranging, massages, sightseeing and delicious food, just an hour-and-a-half from Canberra? True story. Turns out there’s a whole lot more than just gorgeous canola in The Hilltops Region.
The Hilltops Region encompasses the townships of Jugiong, Harden-Murrumburrah, Young and Boorowa—and if these names aren’t familiar to you, they should be.
With rolling scenery, vineyards, canola fields, cherry orchards, cute little towns and delicious paddock-to-plate dining, the Hilltops is the perfect destination for a getaway, as four friends and I found when we visited last month.
Normally, we’d structure this article along the lines of our ‘Girls Guides To…’, with sections like ‘stay, eat’, play’; however, our hosts Hilltops Tourism curated such a perfectly balanced trip for us, I felt it would be a shame to mix it up.
Read on to find out what we ate, drank, saw and did during our girls weekend away.
FRIDAY EVENING
Scandi minimalism, local wine and regional produce
On a Friday afternoon the five of us knocked off work a little early to wind our way slowly toward the town of Jugiong (joo-gee-ong). Lying 90-minutes north of Canberra via Yass, Jugiong is a picturesque little slice of the Hilltops, with rolling paddocks greeting us in the late afternoon glow.
Arriving on Jugiong’s main street, we were immediately floored by our accommodation for the weekend, The Sir George. I mean, you can see why.
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Built in 1852, The Sir George has undergone a stunning transformation in recent years thanks to new owners, mother and daughter duo Liz Prater and Kate Hufton, who have transformed the historic pub into quite the destination.
The Sir George’s main building now boasts a pub, restaurant, whisky room and billiard room, while a chic outdoor seating area overlooks a grassy play space complete with cubby house and farmyard petting area—perfect for families on a Sunday afternoon.
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Uphill we found a semi-circle of dark wooden ‘barns’ around a manicured lawn—our home for the weekend. Perfectly juxtaposed against the rural setting, the barns are a study in minimal-yet-comfortable Scandi chic, with light wooden floors, soft linens atop extremely lush beds, and moody bathrooms complete with decadent Hunter Lab toiletries.
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A quick freshen up and we were ready for dinner—a special Hilltops Feast Trivia Night that formed part of the Hilltops Food & Wine Weekend. While this isn’t a regular event, if you’re planning your own girls’ trip a we highly recommend a Friday night dinner booking at The Sir George. It’ll give you a chance to fully relax into weekend mode (and, ahem, crack into some local wine).
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With dishes like Roasted cauliflower salad, Duck liver parfait and Grain fed scotch fillet, you’ll be able to get your first taste of the Hilltops without having to drive another kilometre.
The Sir George | Riverside Drive, Jugiong | sirgeorge.com.au
SATURDAY
Canola, coffee, yoga, flower arranging, massages and wine tasting
With a full day ahead, we hit the road early, finding ourselves at Colenso Country Retreat just in time for tea and toast with owners Annette and Stan Hume.
After a guided tour through the property (including some seriously cute holiday cottages), we drove up to the top of a hill, where canola fields stretched in all directions, to take some epic photos. After all, if you went to The Hilltops in spring and didn’t take a canola photo, did you really go?
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Before you tiptoe through the canola, just a note of caution—although there are beautiful canola fields all over the region, if you are taking photos make sure to keep out of the fields themselves, unless you have verbal permission from the farmers themselves. They are people’s crops, after all.
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Given the early start, some coffee was in order, so after a short drive to Boorowa, we popped into Pantry on Pudman for a much-needed latte (or two). Part café, part vintage store, part provedore, there’s plenty to draw your eye as you nibble on their homemade range of baked goods.
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It was important for us to have a light brekky as our next stop was a session with Boorowa’s very own yogi, Claire Beath of Ramble Om Yoga. Looking across green fields from the second story of a pavilion at the Boorowa Showground, Claire took us through a restorative flow specially tailored for our relaxing girls’ weekend.
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Aside from being a delightfully warm teacher and great company, Claire’s session helped us sink into the moment and be fully present, which was perfect for what was to come…
This is the part where reality really left the building. In order to create an incredibly luxe experience for my friends and I, Hilltops Tourism had planned the ultimate afternoon at Young’s Grove Estate winery.
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Overlooking the estate’s vineyards in the cellar door, Tillia Withers of The Yard Studio walked us through a step-by-step floral arranging workshop.
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With what seemed like an entire florist’s worth of lush blooms to choose from, and vases so we could take our creations home, Tillia showed us how to easily structure the perfect arrangement while we lunched on a jaw dropping grazing platter from Graze Away and nipped into the Grove Estate cellar door in the next room for a tasting.
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As if that wasn’t enough, on a hilltop just outside the cellar door sat a chic glamping tent that held a luxe surprise. Inside was the multi-talented skin and massage therapist Jennifer Galvin, ready to give us all massages in the ridiculously cute Hilltops Glamping bell tent.
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The best part? All of this can be arranged for you trip too and would make the perfect centrepiece for a hen’s weekend or birthday trip.
By late afternoon—by which time were we so relaxed we might never have come back to Canberra again—we said our goodbyes, piling in the car one last time to head to Young Showground for a dinner of street food at the Foodies Night Markets.
A seasonal pop-up market of street food vendors, you can find the Foodies Night Market at a variety of locations across New South Wales, just check their Facebook page for upcoming dates.
Our final stop for the night was a cheeky nightcap at the Light Horse Hotel Murrumburrah. Another restored gem, the Light Horse Hotel’s bar and restaurant is a triumph in sympathetic restoration, with a beautiful pressed tin bar and a curated selection of boutique spirits and craft beers.
Our tipple for the evening? Deconstructed gin and tonics, with fresh garnishes served in front of an open fire. Heavenly, and the perfect way to polish off a huge day.
Colenso Country Retreat | 219 Colenso Road, Galong | colensocountryretreat.com.au
The Pantry on Pudman | 107 Pudman Street, Boorowa | Facebook
Ramble Om Yoga | @clairebeath
Grove Estate Winery | 4100 Murringo Road, Young | groveestate.com.au
The Yard Studio | @theyard_studio
Jennifer Galvin Skin Therapy | @jennifergalvin_skin_therapy_
Hilltops Glamping | @hilltopsglamping
Graze Away | @grazeaway_
Foodies Night Markets | Facebook
Light Horse Hotel Murrumburrah | 337 Albury St, Harden | Faceboo
SUNDAY
Brunch, local wine and cherry-picking
After bidding a sad farewell to our beloved barn and checking out of The Sir George, we popped next door (literally) to the Long Track Pantry.
A destination worth a day trip in itself, it offers breakfast, lunch, coffee and cake, but also an amazing shopping experience with a host of house-made delicacies (think jams, relishes and preserves), sweet treats like handmade chocolate and lollies, even kitchen essentials like beautiful tea towels and wooden spoons and even picnic hampers.
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And, inside a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it side room, you’ll find Long Track Style, a treasure trove of clothes and accessories that look like they’ve been cut and pasted from a Melbourne high street. Chic hair accessories, linen playsuits, luxury hats. You want it? They’ve got it.
Wallets exhausted, we sat outside in the spring sunshine and ate a hearty breakfast before hitting the road north one final time.
Our first stop was the Young Information Centre. Housed in the historic Young railway station, this gorgeous Victorian red brick building is home to our generous hosts for the weekend, Hilltops Tourism, and boasts a comprehensive gift shop and even its own cellar door!
Popping in is a must-do for information on the region’s offerings and especially if you’re unable to get around to all the region’s wineries. You can also call Hilltops Tourism before you head off from Canberra on 1800 628 233 to get advice on how to structure your trip to get the most out of your stay (i.e. with as little driving possible).
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Of course, a trip to The Hilltops in spring wouldn’t be complete without some cherry picking, so we recommend heading to one of Young’s many cherry orchards as your final Sunday destination before heading back home.
For us it was Wombat’s Allambie Cherry Orchard, which was in full-bloom ahead of cherry season when we visited. We were there for the annual Cherry Blossom Long Lazy Lunch, which was a mystery orchard food and wine experience.
Next year it will be hosted on Sunday 20 September 2020. A day of sunshine, great food, new and old friends and seriously Instagrammable surrounds, the Long Lazy Lunch is held on long tables in the rows of cherry trees in blossom season, so you can dine surrounded by blooms.
With a leisurely lunch of local seasonal produce accompanied by an amazing big band, it was the perfect way to finish off a decadent weekend—in style.
A 10-minute drive from Young, Allambie is just one of the many cherry orchards where you can pick your own fruit. Want to get the scoop on where has the best fruit or book in for next year’s Cherry Blossom Long Lazy Lunch? Call Hilltops Region Tourism or see visithilltopsregion.com.au.
Long Track Pantry + Long Track Style | Riverside Drive, Jugoing, New South Wales | longtrackpantry.com.au
Young Visitors Information Centre | Lovell Street, Young | visithilltopsregion.com.au
Allambie Orchard | 3725 Olympic Highway, Wombat, New South Wales | allambieorchard.com
Want more?
Check out the Hilltops Tourism website for itinerary ideas, seasonal activities and more!
The author travelled courtesy of Hilltops Tourism however their opinions remain their own.
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