Cottage on the Mall, Leura review: Chance of storms and heavy rain

Undeterred by suspicious weather patters, Jacqui Taffel arranges a gathering of the clan in a well-located cottage.

The final volume of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy books features a sodden lorry driver named Rob McKenna. Everywhere he goes, it rains because "though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a rain god. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and wanted to be near him, to cherish him and water him."

We are starting to feel like Rob McKenna but only when we go to the Blue Mountains. For the past couple of years, every time we cross the Nepean River and start the climb into the foothills, it starts to rain. And it keeps raining pretty much the whole time we're there.

Fortunately, this doesn't matter too much, as our most recent soggy visit proves. We have a toddler, so bushwalking is out anyway; our accommodation, Cottage on the Mall, is comfortable, dry and close to Leura's shops; and we have local relatives, friends and their pets and children to visit when we need to go out.

The weatherboard cottage was built about 20 years ago but is designed to look older, with a well-established, old-fashioned front garden full of hydrangeas and roses. The only disappointment is there's no garden out the back. Bloome Park is next door, however, so there's space to run around when there is a break in the rain.

The house is not large but everything we need is here: a comfy couch and armchairs in the small living area, a functional and well-stocked kitchen (including lots of tea bags and cling wrap) and a large dining table so we can have our friends over for dinner. For warmth, there's a wood-fired stove or central heating. There are three bedrooms but we don't discover the third - behind folding doors next to the laundry nook - until just before we leave. Our bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a tiny shower recess but the main bathroom has a good-sized bath.

Cottage on the Mall is one of several properties owned by Bill and Maria McCabe. We pick up the keys from their base, the grand Whispering Pines Chalet in Wentworth Falls, and make a note to stay here in the future.

We've rented several holiday homes in Leura but never been quite so close to the main shops on The Mall. This makes it easy to pick up a loaf of bread from the Bakehouse on Wentworth or for one of us to duck out for a coffee or the paper.

My husband, English-born and never the most enthusiastic bushwalker, even when the sun is shining ("Is there a cafe at the end?" he always wants to know), loves the second-hand bookshops in Katoomba and spends an afternoon browsing happily.