Bathurst - continued

Beekeepers Inn, Vittoria

After leaving Abercrombie House last Thursday, we drove on in the bus to Vittoria, on the outskirts of Bathurst to have a delicious lunch at The Beekeepers Inn.   The Restaurant & Cafe is licenced to serve local wines, ciders and 1859 brand beer.  The meal consisted of contemporary Australian cuisine using seasonal produce and ingredients.  The Inn was originally a Cobb & Co. stopover.  It was built in 1859 and is now a tourist destination operated by the Lockwood family.  There is also a farm shop attached to the cafe with a range of local and regional quality foods.  There is also a unique range of Goldfields varietal honeys available for tasting and purchase in the farm shop.  Through a glass window we could watch the live bee display as the bees brought nectar back to the hive. 

The sign on this building said The Beekeepers Inn, but I think it may just be an old shed on the property that has been converted into a museum with a collection of Australiana from the days of Cobb & Co. and the gold rush days.  I didn't take a look inside as I was more interested in inspecting the large range of Irises on display in the adjoining Iris Farm.

There is an Iris Farm on the property called  Antonia's Irises.  Here they grow Bearded Irises on site and the early varieties were in full flower.  There were many different varieties and colours.  This one was called DeLovely.  The names of all the irises were displayed at the end of each bed.

Many geese, ducks and other waterfowl were wandering around the dam on the property.

After leaving The Beekeepers Inn, we drove back to Bathurst and did a lap on the Racing Circuit at Mount Panorama.  The Bathurst 1000 Motor Race is held here in October every year.

A view from the top of Mount Panorama on the racing circuit.  Our driver stopped the bus, so we could get out and take photographs from on top of the Mountain.

We then drove back into the township of Bathurst.

All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Bathurst.  We stopped for a little while here, but disappointingly, we could not see inside the Church, as it was locked. 

Opposite the Cathedral is a beautiful Park named Kings Parade containing the War Memorial Carillion which is a memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

We left Bathurst about 3.30pm to head back to the Blue Mountains and home after a great day out.