Millthorpe Bed and Breakfast, review: Full bellies, feelin' dreamy

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 13 years ago

Millthorpe Bed and Breakfast, review: Full bellies, feelin' dreamy

Stress-free ... roses at Millthorpe B&B.

Stress-free ... roses at Millthorpe B&B.

The low-stress, country life is as tempting as the cheese platters and generous breakfasts at this village B&B, writes Judy Prisk.

YOU know the sort of place. You drive into a village and one of you says: "We really should buy a place here! It's gorgeous." Heritage buildings line the crooked, bluestone-bordered main street, there's lots of wrought-iron, well-tended cottages and gardens, a little school the kids will adore and all of it classified by the National Trust so no blow-ins from the big smoke can bulldoze and develop a monstrosity.

Over a bottle of wine at lunch ("This is fabulous food!") you work out the logistics ("You can work from home and I can open a bookshop") and you set off the next day buzzing with ideas. And you don't give it another thought.

But Randall Edwards did. He left his high-stress, big-travel job in Sydney and moved to Millthorpe in the central west, about 30 minutes from Bathurst, and set up a bed and breakfast. He's living the dream.

He did have a slightly stronger pull than most, though; he lived in the bluestone school cottage as a boy and knows most of the village's 725 or so inhabitants.

Millthorpe Bed and Breakfast is a five-minute walk from town, set in pretty, simple gardens, including an Australian-style gazebo surrounded by native plants and shrubs. There are three rooms: the main, huge and stylishly appointed and decorated, with an enticing fireplace; the second and third, one with a queen-size bed, the other with a single bed, also beautifully done out. They all share a big, bright and spotlessly clean bathroom.

Guests have the run of the place because Edwards's quarters are at the back of the house. The kitchen is big and clean and in impeccable order. In it, Edwards conjures a complimentary gourmet cheese plate on arrival. Or whenever you'd like it, really. We'd had an excellent and filling lunch at Millthorpe's Tonic Restaurant after our 3½-hour drive from Sydney, so our cheese plate was a perfect light evening meal.

The lounge room is just that: furnished and lit in a way that demands you kick your shoes off and settle back with a book or the TV. Edwards brought a lot of his furniture from Sydney but has bought some great country timber pieces, warm and strong.

The rains came overnight but we didn't hear them, so comfortable were we in our quiet little patch. Edwards served a huge breakfast for the huge-breakfast-eating country boy, with a smaller version for me, made from mostly local produce - Millthorpe likes to support its own - and we sat, replete, on the covered patio for an hour or so, talking, crosswording and drinking Edwards's excellent coffee until it was time for more exploring.

Advertisement

We couldn't walk because the rain had settled in but the village was buzzing, as it usually is at weekends, locals say. Tourists fill the little shops including La Boucherie, an arts, books and espresso spot to die for; Tomolly, chock-a-block with little treasures (many of which ended up in my boot); the Paper Workshop, filled with creativity and inspiration; the Old Mill Cafe, for meals or coffee and scrumptious goodies, inside or in the courtyard; the Angullong winery - delicious local wines served in The Stables, a stunning stone building; and Basalt, a restaurant in the Commercial Hotel building.

Not surprisingly, as we'd organised our circuit well, this was where we ended up at lunchtime. From the wood-fired roasted olives to nibble on as we sat in cosy warmth, rain pelting on the unfortunates outside, to the seared quail breasts with eschallot puree and toasted brioche and the pressed pork belly with crackling and warm mushroom salad - with another taste burst from Darling Mills greens with local hazelnuts, black cherry vinegar and pink grapefruit oil - the Urban Graze team, who have recently taken over (and who run a branch of its cooking school in Millthorpe), did themselves proud. I like to think we did them proud, too.

Back to our B&B to unload and dry off. I was expecting the spectacular iceberg roses posturing along the front of the house to have sagged in the downpour but they stood proud, picture-perfect. We sat on the front porch admiring their stamina and complimenting ourselves on ours. For such a tiny place, Millthorpe pushes buttons on all the senses.

Edwards produced another cheese plate. Country air must do something for the appetite. There's a lot to be said for sharing a dream.

The writer was a guest of Tourism NSW and Millthorpe Bed and Breakfast.

Trip notes

Millthorpe

Where Millthorpe Bed and Breakfast, 11 Morley Street. (02) 6366 3967, millthorpebedandbreakfast .com.au.

Getting there Follow the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, then the Mitchell Highway towards Orange. Turn left after 20 kilometres at Vittoria into the Millthorpe Vittoria Road and in 15 minutes you're there.

How much $200 for one night; $175 a night for two nights or more.

Style statement My place should be so clean and well-ordered.

Perfect for An easy out-of-town weekend, rain, hail or shine.

Don't forget A book.

Shame about Tiny televisions and mobile phone service is unreliable.

Kudos A heartfelt make-yourself-at-home vibe.

Take the kids? Not unless you really have to.

- Sun-Herald

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading