Hall village

So my second adventure was a lot closer - only about twenty minutes from my front door - the village of Hall, with a population of less than 300 people.

Hall was originally called Ginninderra when it was proclaimed in 1882, but following protests it was renamed in honour of Henry Hall, the first landholder in the area. Up until 1980, the Barton highway ran through the town.

But before exploring the town, our adventure started by a long overdue walk up to One Tree Hill . A high point behind Hall, which was used in the initial surveys of Canberra, and forms a 'corner' in the ACT Border.

It was certainly worth the wait...what an amazing place and yet so close to Canberra! The whole walk takes about 2 hours return...but there is certainly a lot to see along the way...

 And as you go up and up the views just get better and better!

As you near the top of the hill, you reach a very impressive rocky outcrop...

Then you go past what I assume is the 'one tree'....

And you have made it!

Its a lot quicker walking down...or perhaps I was just faster as I was looking forward to lunch at 1882...

After lunch, we wandered around the village and found many unexpected surprises....

The sense of history is strong here and it was so lovely just to wander around....

We ducked in to Hops and Vine, a local food and wine shop, for a bit as well - and were treated to vodka and gin, fudge and maple syrup tasting! I certainly didn't expect that.

I had to restrain myself to only buy three things!

Next was a bit of a drive around the gorgeous streets of Hall - with their British like quaintness, but Australian plants - to see what else we could find....

We followed a sign pointing to a museum and decided to give it a go - thinking it might just be a small room with a few photos...but OMG were we wrong. You could spend hours in this place and the volunteers are so amazing! If you are interested in local regional history you really shouldn't miss this place

And if you need to find your zen they even have a peace tree....

So what can I say...I was never a fan of the Hall markets, but Hall itself is so much more, and a great place for a rural adventure close to home. I will be back!