A walk around Melrose

After a chilly night, with the temperature dropping to around 7 degrees, we woke to sunshine and the continuing strong wind.   A typical October weather pattern, very hot and in the 30s for a few days, then a change comes through with hopefully some rain.   Then a few days of cooler weather until it peaks up to the 30s again.   

Today we took advantage of the cool weather and walked around part of Melrose.    To the south of Melrose and running along the edge of the creek there were some lovely old houses.    I think the one in the photograph below was more a shack and very rustic. 

                                         

The house in the photograph below was beautifully restored and with an arch covered with a glorious display of pink roses.  

The Jacka Brothers Brewery and guest house, built in 1877 but closed in 1934.   The old brewery building has been made into a four room bed and breakfast guest house with the tap room on the ground floor.   We should have gone in, and had a look, and perhaps had a beer, but we were thinking of lunch at the hotel instead.   The grounds were extensive, with plenty of seating, and we gathered it must be popular at the weekends.   

They also sell wood fired pizzas, but even the smell of the pizza oven being heated up could not deter us from our lunch at the hotel.

The grounds at the brewery.

Walter was very pleased with his walk up the hill.

We drove up the hill above the camping ground, and gained a great view of Melrose.

The WWI memorial was at the viewpoint,

The camping ground extends to the other side of the creek bed.   Lots of space, electrical hook ups and water.   Only a couple of campers there today.   A beautiful spot.

We also looked at the walking and biking track maps in the shelter shed.   We could see the tracks that we used to walk on, in the 1980s, on the other side of the Mt Remarkable range.   Since then it has been expanded somewhat, especially the Melrose side of the range.    The mountain bike paths are extensive and are graded the same way as ski runs are marked, with the easy ones as blue and the extreme ones as black.   There is also an area for mountain bike riders behind the show grounds, plus another one further north.   A mountain biker's paradise.  

Lunch at the hotel was very good, a hamburger for Walter and a vegetarian curry for me.