A cool and clear morning made for a perfect start to a day trip from Ipswich to Woodford. Sure, we could have taken a quick trip through the city via the highway, but seriously, why would you do that when there is a much more scenic route? Heading out of Ipswich to the West, we travelled along the Brisbane Valley Highway towards Fernvale where we stopped at Barbs Kitchen for a coffee to warm us up before continuing on up into the mountains.
Taking a quick right onto Splityard Creek Road we began the climb. The countryside looked beautiful after the recent rain and along the way we had glimpses of Wivenhoe Dam and Mt Glorious. Recent upgrades to the road made the ride a little easier as we meandered through the countryside, getting in a little lean action on the bike and checking out the rustic farmscapes and rolling hills along the way. Soon we were heading for yowie country, commonly known as Kilcoy, but no sightings were made unfortunately – now that certainly would have made for an interesting trip.
We saw plenty of activity from the birds of prey in the area and Pelicans on the water of Somerset Dam as we breached the horizon and wound our way around the dam. Such a beautiful area, it really made me re-think the idea of retiring to the coast!
The time went by quickly with so much to see and it wasn’t long before we were on the much straighter road that would take us to our destination. We decided not to stop in Kilcoy this trip, so as not to get sidetracked, and before we knew it, we were entering Woodford, which was abuzz with locals and other day trippers taking in the delights of this lovely country town. Lots of custom convertibles to look at as we explored the main street and went in search of a bite to eat.
With tummies full, we decided to explore a little and found the army tank in the park and dropped in at the local museum and art gallery.
They had some fabulous replicas of the old town buildings and the ladies were a great source of information and told us some quite interesting stories about local ghosts. After admiring the replica of the local pub, it was time to check out the real thing. Absolutely stunning.
With a cold drink under our belts it was time to head back home, taking a slightly different route, bypassing Kilcoy and going through Esk on the way back to Ipswich.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and we highly recommend you get out there, follow in our footsteps or take a detour……………. There’s so much to see and do in the 2 hour circle!
Comments