Search Results for: label/Australia

Is it too early for a cream tea? Said no one ever. A cream tea is the little sister to the traditional afternoon high tea. Something we are very partial to and a topic I have written about previously.

For the uninitiated, a cream tea involves two warm scones, preferably just from the oven, strawberry jam, and lashings of clotted cream. Now, here is the key point. Clotted cream. Not whipped. Clotted. Cream so thick it could be mistaken for ice cream. And a cream tea is not a cream tea without clotted cream. 

But why am I making such a fuss over the cream that comes with our scones? Because, despite having many, many high teas in Australia, I have yet to find one that does clotted cream. I mean, what is so difficult about clotting cream? In truth, I don’t know. Maybe I should investigate. There has to be some reason that “traditional” high teas in Australia are just not, well, all that traditional.

What is definitely traditional is the part of England called The Cotswolds. Situated about an hour from London, and three hours south of our native Yorkshire, The Cotswolds are deemed an “area of national beauty”. And walking around it is obvious why. Cottages dating back centuries. A pub reputed to be the oldest in England. Rolling green fields, hemmed in by dry stone walls. 

We recently spent a glorious three days exploring The Cotswolds.. And cream teas are something that quaint little tea rooms in The Cotswolds do well. Extremely well. 

With excellent cream teas, and so much history and beauty, I am left scratching my head as to why I have never visited The Cotswolds previously. I spent the first forty years of my life living in England, and saw much of the world. Ten years living in Australia and now I start exploring England. Better late than never. And what better place to start than the historic Barnsley House and Spa. Built in 1697, Barnsley House has been run as a hotel since 2003. 

We had two nights in room 5, up in the eaves of the main building. Carrying our bags up the flights of old wooden stairs, creaking with every step, you immediately start getting a sense of the place. Our room was huge. A vestibule. Large bedroom to the left. And a very impressive bathroom to the right. Complete with a sumptuous free standing bath. I had my afternoon already planned out. 

Downstairs in the hotel is the “Potager” restaurant, a word I later learned is French for “kitchen garden”. And wandering around the garden, I came to see where the name comes from. A garden replete with herbs and vegetables, no doubt destined for the kitchen. We had an excellent dinner in the restaurant, with Mrs C proclaiming that her lamb was the best she has ever had. I have to say, the steak I had was tremendous. 

Breakfast both mornings was also in the restaurant. Imagine my delight when we came down on the first morning and I saw that the menu included a “full English”. If you have ever visited England you will be familar with what a “full English” is. The fact that it is traditionally served with black pudding is an added bonus.  An acquired taste, black pudding is something I love and can’t get a good version of in Australia. Who would have thought something made predominantly with pigs blood could be so hard to come by?

By day three we had departed Barnsley House and checked in to the Wild Thyme and Honey, a boutique hotel in the tiny village of Ampney Crucis. Attached to the excellent Crown pub, we ended up debating whether to cancel our onward plans and stay longer. It really was that delightful. 

And if I thought I had hit the gastronomic highs at Barnsley House, they were just about to go into orbit. Dinner at the Crown pub was a “luxury fish pie” so good I decided that if I ever find myself on death row, which I sincerely hope I don’t, I now have a new “last supper”. Packed with all kinds of creatures from the sea, and a hard boiled egg squeezed in, and topped with Duchess potatoes, this fish pie for one could have fed a family. It fed me, and I just about managed to roll out of the restaurant.

The rolling had changed to walking by the morning and we spent our final hours exploring the tiny village. As with our whole stay in the Cotswolds I was blown away by the houses, the cottages, and the overall look of the area. Never has the word, “wow”, been so overused.

It may have taken me 50 years to finally visit the Cotswolds. I will not be waiting quite so long next time. 

Ocean views in Denmark (WA)

Waking to views of the ocean. Under a bright blue sky, and sandwiched between the verdant green trees that flourish in this part of the world. Watching the swell crash against the beach, roll out, and return. In the same way it has done for thousands of years. Nowhere to be. Nothing to do. Other than just being the ocean. Day after day. There is something quite meditative about it. A simplicity.

And this simplicity will be how we spend our weekend in Denmark. A drive south of Perth of just under five hours, we were spending three nights in a Heyscape tiny cabin, This one named “Sand”. One of three cabins in a large paddock, some 12 kms out of Denmark.

Tiny Cabins of Western Australia

We have had a few weekends across Western Australia in these tiny cabins, and this was our first in Denmark, a place we last visited in 2022. Just last year, on our European holiday, I had my first visit to the Scandinavian Denmark. Not to be confused with a country some 13,000 kms away, the local version was named in 1826, after Alexander Denmark of the British Royal Navy.

Whilst the very impressive coastline will not have changed much since those naval days, our stay is sure to be very different to the last time we were here, passing through on a holiday exploring the Great Southern. You may remember the disaster we had with our hire car on the way south of Perth, and how our good friend rescued our holiday.

This visit was to be very different. And the first time (I think) that Denmark (WA) has made an appearance on the blog. <<checks the blog archives>>.

Road Tripping the Great Southern

With the hire car fully stocked with all we needed for three nights, minus the wine we were sure to buy locally at the excellent cellar doors, we were off and heading south. The road south, the Albany Highway, was quiet, and we made good time, rolling in to Denmark just after our 4 o’clock check in time.

Cracking open a cold beer, sitting out on the deck of the cabin, I noticed how warm it felt. Being autumn, and about as south as you could get, we were hoping for some cooler weather. It is rare that we get to wear anything other than t-shirts and shorts in Perth. There appears to be two seasons. Summer. And waiting for summer. 

Apart from loving the seclusion. And the simplicity of a tiny cabin. There is one massive draw for us on these weekends. When the sun sets, and the stars come out. Wow. No words. The night sky is all the entertainment we need. We just sit and stare, having a competition on who can spot the most shooting stars. With our homemade meat and cheese board finished, I drained the last of my whisky nightcap, and we called it a night.

Mornings in Denmark

Morning started as they often do on these weekends. Coffee on the deck taking in the natural surroundings. The first whiff of eucalyptus. Heaven. That first morning included kangaroos and a host of different birds, prompting a reflective conversation on whether we would like to come back in an afterlife as a bird. Quite appealing, I am sure you would agree.

After a traditional bacon and egg butty cooked up on the BBQ we drove the short distance to Elephant Rocks and neighbouring Greens Pool. Both are spectacular. Strolling along the quiet path we surprised a small mob of kangaroos. 

Wine Tasting in Denmark

Leaving the kangaroos to get back to their morning routine, we made plans for the day. Denmark is well known for its wines, and there were some favourite cellar doors we wanted to revisit, and plenty of new places that we had not yet discovered. One such place was Rockcliffe winery. Entering the cellar door, a couple were just finishing a tasting and leaving. We sat at the bar, noticing that the owner, Steve, seemed to be a million miles away. We exchanged a furtive glance, without words, saying “what are we doing here?”

We needn’t have worried. Steve warmed up, and whilst he remained a cantankerous Englishman, looking for a way to move to Italy, we had a great time sharing stories with him. He told us of his frustration with running a business in Australia and how he was ready to leave. I secretly suspect that he will still be there when we next visit, whenever that happens to be.

Our next visit that day was to Monkey Rock, which turns out to be a winery, brewery, and a cidery all in one. We tried a few of the wines but it was a four pack of the excellent preservative free apple cider that we walked away with.

Beers at Boston Brewing Company

One local institution that is going nowhere is Boston Brewing Company. Having been closed when we passed through in 2022, this was our first visit. A large brewery with an impressive outdoor space to go with a massive indoor bar and restaurant. 

Being in a region renowned for its food and drink, one of us has to be the skipper. What I am now wondering is, why is it that when I write a blog, the skipper always seems to be Victoria. I also do some of the driving. I promise. 

I savoured a pint of the excellent Great Southern IPA. If there weren’t so many other places to visit I could have happily stayed there for the afternoon. But we had places to be, specifically, The Lakehouse for lunch. This was our second visit and once again lunch was one of their excellent shared platters and a glass of their finest wine.

After a busy afternoon how to best unwind? In the outdoor bath with a bottle of local sparkling wine, of course. What started out as a novelty, then a trend, and now the norm, is the practice of including an outdoor bath at these remote cabins. You will struggle to now find one that doesn’t offer one. Saturday afternoon had us soaking in bubbles, drinking bubbles.

Returning to Albany

Some 52 kms from Denmark sits Albany. A town with beauty and character that we always love visiting. Not only for the LimeBurners whisky tasting, or the Wilson Brewery and their fine range of beers, but also because it has what Victoria has deemed to be the best Indian Restaurant in Australia. Knowing we would be so close on this weekend in the Great Southern we couldn’t resist another visit and we booked ourselves in for dinner. 

Before gorging on excellent Indian food we had a walk around Emu Point and Middleton Beach to see how it had developed since our last visit. There is always some development going on and the touted hotel we saw advertised a few years ago still hasn’t materialised.

Beer and Curry a Perfect Combination

Wilson Brewery has shifted to a new, large, town centre location since our last visit and whilst the beer remains just as good I couldn’t help feeling that the brewery has lost a lot of its charm and magic. A couple of pints and it was time for that dinner.

And how excited we were. Being English there are not many things I enjoy as much as fish and chips. Curry is one of them and tonight we were making our third (or was it our fourth) visit to Albany Tandoori. Through the meal there was a little hiccup with our order. It was taking a long time to arrive. Had they forgotten the order? Victoria enquired, sharing that we needed to be getting back to Denmark and “would the food be long”.

It wasn’t long. And when I paid the bill I was told that the price of our drinks had been removed.  Due to the “hiccup” and that we were “locals from Denmark”. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we were tourists. A free drink is a free drink. Walking back to the car, rubbing our tummies, we agreed that Albany Tandoori remains top of the curry pile.

Time to say Goodbye

All too quick, our final day had arrived. Checking out by 10am we called in at the nearby Denmark Chocolate Shop. Had we had more time I would have definitely settled in with a couple of their delicious looking scones, cream and Berry Farm jam.

As it was, we had somewhere to be, so we left with just a couple of bags of chocolate buttons. The place where we were headed was Singlefile cellar door. A return visit as we love the location, and the cellar door so much. Deciding against tasting the whole list, which is a lot of wine, we sampled a few excellent whites and a very good pinot noir. Yes, before you ask, we did walk away with a few bottles.

Sadly, it was time to head home. Being a long drive back we called in at Plantagenet Wines in Mt Barker, where we had lunch and a glass of wine. A lovely old building that used to be an apple shed, and is now a thriving winery and restaurant. A simple lunch of pizza was just what we needed.

Our thoughts return to Albany Tandoori

Heading back up Albany  highway, wine bottles rattling around the boot of the car, we finally pulled into Perth around 6pm, reflecting on such a great weekend. And the conversation over dinner that night? When can we go back for another curry!

When we returned from our round the world adventures in 2023, back to Perth, we didn’t know what the next chapter had in store for us. We had enjoyed our three years exploring the big old state of Western Australia, even running off to Margaret River in 2021 to get married.

Having enjoyed almost every restaurant, brewery, and over 70 cellar doors across Swan Valley and Margaret River we knew it was time. Time to travel again. When you are living a values aligned life, and when you know two of your strongest values are adventure and travel, making big decisions seems so much simpler.

Where else to start our travels?

Knowing we would be travelling again, and that we were leaving Western Australia, we knew there was only one place to start. In our spiritual home.  So when we decided to hit the road again it was only natural that we planned to start in the Margaret River region. 

With the lease of our most recent apartment expiring at the end of March we had a natural break. Sell what we can. Put the rest into storage. And hand the keys in. A couple of nights in a hotel in superb Subiaco, one of our favourite suburbs, whilst we dealt with the necessary life admin and we were off to pick up the hire car.

Our destination was just over two hours south of Perth. Busselton to catch up with our good friends Ali and Fran and talk all things Camino. They spent part of last year doing the Camino Nortes. Across Northern Spain. Whilst we will be doing the shorter Camino Portugués we got some valuable advice and tips over great food and even better beer at Rocky Ridge Taphouse, a place we will certainly miss.

Bliss in a tiny cabin

A twenty minute drive out of Busselton is Whicher Ridge winery, a place we highly recommend you visit for a wine tasting and a walk through their sensory garden. We were staying at one of the tiny cabins they have on the large working vineyard. One of three cabins, each out of sight of the other in such a way that you start to believe you are the last human inhabitants of earth. With just our sister, nature for company.

Waking up on that first morning, just as the sun was rising, Victoria had lain silently watching the many kangaroos that were feeding right outside our oversize bedroom window. She was transfixed for a couple of hours. That is until I woke and starting plodding around the cabin. The ever alert kangaroos. with their ears twitching a full 180 degrees were soon bounding off. 

Back to civilisation

After two nights of isolation we were heading back to civilisation. Our next stop was three nights in an AirBnB in Margaret River town. A location that allowed us to walk to two very different eating establishments and not worry about who was the skipper (what Australians call the designated driver). Settlers Tavern is a must visit when we are in town, simply for their chicken parmi. We have enjoyed a lot of parmis over the years and this is one of the best. When we had family stay with us a couple of years ago this was one of the first places we took them to.

Our second walkable restaurant is the excellent Miki’s Open Kitchen. Quite possibly the best Japanese restaurants in Australia. We have been fortunate to have eaten here a number of times, always the “Complete” degustation. We have never been disappointed, and with matching wines on the evening we left very happy.

Not walkable but only a 30 minute drive from another favourite meant we were booked in for the excellent “Farm Feast” at Glenarty Road in Karridale. We have been here a number of times now for both wine tasting and the paddock to plate restaurant and it always leaves us wanting to visit again. And we will, I am sure. 

It would be remiss of me not to mention Vasse Felix winery and vineyard. One of the originals in the region it is a place we keep returning to over and over. We had our first meal as a married couple here back in April 2021. As then, the leaves on the trees were turning autumnal and we called in for a couple of glasses of their rather quaffable wines.

Farewell beers at some favourite breweries

Our third, and final stop whilst down South was at Littlewood Chalet. We were finishing with an off grid stay. No phone signal. No wifi. Just our Uno cards and bottles of wine. Perfect. As we were just down the road we called into CBCo Brewery for a cold beer. A very impressive brewery that we hadn’t been to in a number of years. We even had some fun with the “selfie pole” out the front.

To close out the brewery side of things we also had a farewell beer at Margaret River Brew House. Always seemingly at capacity we did manage to get one our usual small tables out in the garden to toast a wonderful couple of weeks.

Our final morning down south started with eggs benedict at Sea Garden cafe. Somewhere we visit every time we are down here. Is there a more quintessential Margaret River cafe? This also allowed us to do our walk along Gnarabup Beach for the final time. Oh, the memories.

The three hour drive back to Perth was mostly done in contemplative silence. We love the South West of WA and dont know when we will next be back. We are taking away so many memories and leaving behind a piece of our heart.

It was time to drop the hire car off, squeeze in ANOTHER farewell beer, or two at Found brewery in Subiaco, then jump on the train to the airport. An airport that has been going through quite a transformation. It looks as though Perth airport is being dragged into the 21st century. We said cheers to this as we prepared for our exit from Australia.

For part two of the 2026 travels, Bali beckons.