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!

The three Bs

So it was time for my first adventure and I chose Boorowa, a town of less than 2,000 people 117km from Canberra. I decided to head straight to Boorowa and then slowly wander back to Canberra via a few other B-towns on the way (in retrospect going in reverse would have probably been even better!).

Boorowa was called 'Burrowa' up until 1874, when the railway arrived in the town, and definitely became an important feature of town life up until the train cease in the 1980s. This name is believed to derive from the local Aboriginal language and refers to the Australian bustard or plans turkey. I didn't see any turkeys though...

But it was lovely walking around the centre of town past the old schools, the Catholic church and the lovely old court house...

Following the shamrocks....

 Past the relics of times past...

The supposedly superb parrots that Borrowa is famous for...though I also didn't see...

 But it was time for a pub lunch...

Under fairy lights :p

Mmmm yes that was a bowl of fries covered with garlic aioli and cheese...I could feel the heart attack coming...

I am not sure that any of the other foodie options in the town would have been more vego friendly though...

Afterall this place is all about sheep and wool...

But there was still time to take a lovely walk down by the river before leaving the town...

Then it was off to find the next  B town...

The lovely town of Binalong, a town of less than 600 people, 99km from Canberra.

The name of the town is believed to derive either from an Aboriginal word meaning 'under the hills, surrounded by hills, or towards a high place' or from the Aboriginal man, Bennelong.

What a gorgeous place! I think it won my heart for the day...

I am so jealous of the person who appears to have purchased the old pub and turned it into their country house.

And there were even animal friends in the trees :p

 The statues did scare me off a little though :p

 And the possibility of a land full of Hughs...

So it was off to the final town of Bowning, another small town of less than 600 people, 76km from Canberra. Bowning is an Aboriginal word meaning 'big hill'.

I guess that is the hill? Not sure, but apparently the food at the pub is awesome. I wish we had come here for lunch!

But the antique store next door was a pleasant surprise!

And it was actually open. Look what I bought :)

Bowning didn't have quite the gorgeous feeling of Binalong, but there were still some gorgeous houses and some unexpected surprises - and so close to Canberra!

All in all an excellent first adventure in capital country :)