Five Frogs Guesthouse, Carcoar review: Just like a hop back in time

Lissa Christopher is won over by a little-known rustic settlement in the central west.

There's a glossy, well-upholstered cat of unknown parentage that marches up and down the main street of Carcoar demanding affection from strangers and undertaking free mechanical repairs on parked cars.

When I first pull up, it's sitting under an old ute, head and paws up inside the engine, fiddling as if it really knows what it's doing. I fully expect it to climb out from under the vehicle, wipe its paws on an oily cloth and grumble about the sump. Later, I find it sitting on its lonesome in the middle of the footpath, miaowing loudly in the imperative. It's eccentric but charming, much like Carcoar itself.

The town sits halfway between Bathurst and Cowra and its streets are lined with lovingly restored historical buildings that date to the mid-1800s. To say visiting the town now is like stepping back in time is only a mild exaggeration. I feel I should have arrived on horseback rather than by hatchback. It's also extremely quiet, in a way that's more serene than creepy. It reminds me a bit of Hill End.

A few visitors, mostly couples, wander around, peering into the dim, cedar-lined general store, the lace-curtained bric-a-brac shops and the toy museum. That is when they're not meeting the demands of the moggie mechanic.

Five Frogs Guesthouse is in the town's main street. It used to be the post office and postmaster's residence and embraces an appealing mix of eras. Its greatest asset, however, is its manager, Melanie van Rhyn. She exudes warmth and kindness, and confesses that guests twice her age have wound up calling her mum.

Van Rhyn greets me at the front door and leads me back through the house, past a gorgeous country-style kitchen I wish were my own and a modest breakfast room, its slow-combustion stove aglow and an appetising cluster of jams perched on the sideboard.

The tariff at Five Frogs includes a full cooked breakfast, plus cereals, fresh fruit and toast, all prepared and served by Mother Melanie. My room is the most private on the premises. It used to be the stable, so it sits outside the main building across a small, high-walled courtyard. There are four other rooms inside the house.

The stable room is small, with whitewashed brick walls, a steep, high ceiling and a little mezzanine level with a triangular window that looks out over the courtyard. There's a nifty but steep, ladder-like flight of wooden steps up to it that proves surprisingly easy to ascend. There's a couch to sit on when you get there.