We passed beautiful wineries & sheep cheese farms on route to Richmond. This charming old historic…read moretown was filled with restaurants, coffee shop & charming handmade gift shops. We enjoyed wandering around on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. You have to love a town that has free clean restrooms, lots of free parking and even free Wi-Fi. Perfect!

What an adorable place!…read more My nickname is 'Puddleduck', so of course on the way back to Hobart from visiting Richmond I had to stop in and visit this winery. And I'm so glad we did! The first thing that welcomes you is a giant sign letting you know you're welcome to 'Reverse BYO' - that is that you bring the food and they'll provide the wine. A great idea and muchly appreciated, as if you're on a budget you'll have more to spend on wines! The setting for this winery can only be described as idyllic - the main building sits on the edge of a dam and has a deck outside. We happened to visit on a perfect day and sat for a while in the sunshine on the deck watching the various water birds. There's a beautiful grassed area with chairs and tables and even a children's playground and a big area for the kids to run around and let off steam. There were a few families enjoying lunch and a few drinks and I love that they cater to families so well. We opted for the $5 wine tasting at the bar - there is also an option for a $15 sit down tasting or a $25 one which includes a cheese platter. All of those costs are deducted if you choose to purchase a bottle. My favourite was the Pinot Noir which smelled and tasted amazing. They also have all these options available as a cider tasting too! The guy who was serving welcomed us enthusiastically when we arrived and told us a bit about tastings etc. He also apologised and told us that the service may be a little slower because he was running the show on his own. This is a family business and his mum had an appointment so was unable to help out that day. I appreciated the forewarning and preemptive apology but it was not needed - the service was great. When we went to pay for our tasting he even offered them for free as he felt like he had not been able to be as attentive to us as he wanted to be! I absolutely loved my time at Puddleduck and will endeavour to visit whenever I am back in Hobart. It's well worth the drive from the city!

I absolutely love Puddleduck to bits. My first visit was their first weekend open with essentially…read morejust a little hut by the pond and the paint still drying - I've been coming back ever since and watching the place grow into the wonderful business it is now. The 'shop' is still a fairly small building by the pond (major extension coming this year) but with a lots of outdoor seating around the water either under umbrellas on the grass or under the marquee. The Puddleduck wines are great (do NOT miss out on trying Bubbleduck) and you can kick back whilst working through the wine list with a cheese platter made up of 'wicked' cheeses produced just down the road. Don't want cheese? No problem! Puddleduck allows 'reverse BYO'. You bring whatever picnic food you want and they supply the wine! Puddleduck makes a great wine tasting stop along the Coal Valley route, but if the weather is good I recommend putting aside an afternoon and relaxing - the whole business is a family affair and it feels like it, with warm friendly service that makes you feel instantly like old friends. Other important notes about Puddleduck; you can meet internationally famous 'wine dog' Basil and his cohorts Polly and Sybil. You can also meet Lucky the duck (and all of his friends if they are feeling sociable and you can adopt your very one vine!

www.willowcourtproject.com…read more If you are driving thru or staying in the Derwent Valley I would defiantly suggest driving or walking thru the Historic Willow Court & Royal Derwent Hospital. Willow Court & Royal Derwent Hospital currently comprises of approx 14 buildings set amongst the Lachlan River. Walking thru the grounds and buildings is like stepping back in time when people with mental illness and disabilities were institutionalised. There is a vast range of architectural designs dating as far back as 1830's to the more modern Wards of around 1960. Walking through or past this historic site gets you thinking if Walls could talk what stories could they tell? There is a public road and footpath that travels through Willow Court and Royal Derwent, so you are able to drive or stroll thru Willow Court and Royal Derwent and see most of the buildings via these options without fear of trespass. These Roads are The Ave, Lower Rd, Ring Rd and Glebe Rd New Norfolk. There are plenty of places to park the car if you would like to stroll through Willow Court. Along the Lachlan River is a scenic walking track that takes you the entire way to Tynwald Park which I recommend. This site is currently in Private & Local Council Ownership. To gain legal access to the Wards you would need to ask permission. The Willow Court & Barracks Committee often holds a Willow Court Open Day, where several of the wards including the Barracks (1830) and Carlton House are open to the Public. The next open day will be during the Annual Derwent Valley Autumn Festival. Some of the Wards in private ownership have been reused and is open to the public. The former Olga Ward is one of the best antique shops that I have had the pleasure of going into Alcheringa has been converted into the Willow Court Motel and the Olive Tree Restaurant, The old Church is now the Patchwork Café which is a quilting shop and café. On the Royal Derwent Site (Ring Rd) is another excellent antique shop Ring Rd Antiques. All these places have websites A lot of people take the risk and gain entry to the wards without seeking permission. If people chose to do so I would recommend that you take care and watch where you step and some of the flooring in the Wards around the oval is unsafe. I would recommend wearing strong shoes and take a torch because some of these Wards are dark and have been badly vandalised or damaged due to age and neglect. Remember it's at your own risk. For more information on all the above please visit my website www.willowcourtproject.com where there is Ward descriptions, video walkthrough's, pictures, maps, real life stories and paranormal stories. Nick Jarvis www.willowcourtproject.com

It's a giant tower! Lots of steps to the top and if you…read morecount them correctly you get a 'prize'. New owner is a huge Doctor Who fan and is refurbishing a Dalek to go in the tea rooms! He also sells Doctor Who merch in the shop at pretty good prices.

This site was our first introduction to the time when convicts were "exported" from the UK as part…read moreof the punishment for their crimes. Cascades Female Factory was sold off and mostly dismantled after it closed down. The government had to purchase back most of the property and return it to the original state to open the site for historical visits. We took bus 446 (free pending the outcome of the US-Iran war) from near our hotel and it got us there in around 15 minutes. There were two guided tour options offered (1) Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls which was focused on specific women's stories and (2) Convict Women's Tour which provided an overview of life, hardships, conditions and more inside. Each focused on different parts of the factory so it was best to arrive at least 30 minutes early or stay after the tour to see the part of the factory not covered in the guided tour. Good signage were posted throughout the site along with many individual profiles of the women convicts. There wasn't much to see (mostly walls, building outlines and one original home) but the tour guides brought the history and the stories of some of the female convicts to life. Very harsh living conditions, extreme penalties, abuse and heartbreaking separation from the children were conveyed throughout the tour. Well worth a visit if you have time in Hobart. If you have the Port Arthur Historic Site Ticket of Leave (housed the male convicts) then you can visit this site for free.

This UNESCO World heritage site is the best place to connect with a lesser known stories of…read moreAustralia's female convicts. The story is told through bios and artifacts of the displacement, mistreatment and forced migration of convict women & girls, and their contribution to colonisation throughout the history of colonial Australia to the present day. On the journey women were divided into 2 groups depending on their behavior. The class system regulated clothing & jobs of the women while in the factory. The more trustworthy women were employed as cooks, task overseers & hospital attendants. Second class convicts made clothes for the establishment and prepared & mended linen. The crime class was sentenced to the washtub, laundering for the factory, the orphan school and the penitentiary; they also carded and spun wool. All of these tasks were subject to change at the discretion of the Principal Superintendent.