Mini Break: Historic Carcoar

We took the kids out to visit their grandparents in the school holidays. They live in the gorgeous Central West of NSW, which is rural and very tranquil. If it wasn't for the freezing Winters and boiling Summers, we would probably dream of having our Tree Change there. Instead, it's a great place to visit and catch up with family.

The trip out there was an easy drive. I love driving across the Blue Mountains and watching the scenery and vegetation change. Thankfully the kids are much better at traveling these days. We managed the 300km trip with a quick lunch and lengthy play at McDonalds Lithgow, and then a quick toilet stop at Bathurst.

The whole way Miss E was expecting our destination to be around the next corner. She's not too used to drives longer than about 50 minutes. "We'll see Grandpa Carol soon?" she'd say (she hasn't quite got the pronounciation correct of his actual name, which is Carl, not Carol). If she could muster up the phrase, "Are we there yet?" I'm sure she would, because her repetitive questioning was just as frustrating.

Without thinking, I'd described their grandparents' property as a farm. The implication of this description was that the kids anticipated sprawling paddocks filled with sheep and cows, with horses in stables, chickens in their hen house and pigs in mud. Perhaps this is not an unreasonable expectation for small children to have, especially given that this is the common connotation of 'farm' in our very urban world.

In actual fact, their grandparents' 'farm' is a beautiful property with well-loved alpacas, some friendly, free range chooks, and a cheeky little pup called Pepe. All of which are considered more part of the family than farm animals.

Once we'd settled in, we relished in having the break from our routine, and loved the wide, open spaces (cue the Dixie Chicks here). Everything was so peaceful. There was not the hustle and bustle about town that we're used to. Traffic? What's that? The quieter pace and friendly people certainly has it's appeal.

The kids woke up early as usual, but instead of plonking them in front of the TV so we could steal an extra 15 minutes of sleep, we ventured outside into the pre-dawn chill. We watched the sunrise over the hills and acquainted ourselves with the timid, but curious alpacas.

 

We also ventured off the beaten track and toured around the outskirts of town one afternoon. We came across many groups of wild emus - a first for me, and lots of lazy, grazing sheep. It was so quiet and tranquil along those country roads. Occasionally you could hear the odd plane making it's way across the sky, but mostly our ears were entertained by the chirp of a bird or the rustle of grasses. If I was one to meditate, I would do it here.

After our meandering journey along the country fields and dirt roads we eventually made it into town. We took in the sights of Carcoar's historic buildings, including the beautiful old Courthouse, which was used for the the filming of the mini-series, 'Jessica'. The picturesque landscape surrounding this town and the historic village itself is world's away from our urban sprawl and concrete jungle back home.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time away sharing time with family and enjoying the change of pace in this peaceful part of the world. 

If you like the sounds of this pretty place, you might want to check out this clip promoting the Carcoar Cup Running Festival. It's on the first weekend in November and well worth the journey. I'd highly recommend popping into Carcoar Pottery while you're there.
 

Be a Fan