Around Castlemaine

A country town about an hour and half drive north-west of Melbourne where farmer mingle with creative types who have left the rising rents of Melbourne behind them. There are walking tracks through old goldfields and iron bark forests and the nearby Vaughn Springs and, rest assured, cafes with more than decent coffee. A highlight of the many fetes, festivals and markets running the year round is the Castlemaine Arts Open, when local artists open up their studio doors for a looksee.