PuddleduckLane: Winter Long Weekend - Iandra Castle and the Rustic Maze.

Day two of our trip began with this sweet view of our two lovebugs.

Young turned out to be very family friendly place to visit. We stayed in a beautifully renovated family suite at the Town House Motor Inn. It was immaculately clean, the beds were super comfy and we all had a great night's sleep.

Dinner Saturday night was at Urban Retreat, a very relaxed pub/bistro with great meals and a kids play area only one block from our motel. Sunday morning we filled our bellies with an amazing breakfast at S&AJ Cafe, (smashed avo on sourdough for the win!). I've loved their images on instagram and it was great to try them out. The staff were so lovely, the food AH-MAZING and the homewares store at the back was filled with a whole lot of pretty!

Sunday was the perfect kind of day for driving down country lanes and exploring historical houses and gardens. First on the list...Iandra Castle at Greenethorpe.

(Aerial photo from Iandra's website.)

What a grand and intriguing home, set on a rise overlooking a spectacular rural landscape. The original single level homestead was built in 1880. In 1908 construction commenced to convert it into a 57 room mansion, including stables and a managers residence. The vast 33,000 acre estate became one of the largest and most progressive wheat farming properties in Australia, with its own village that supported as many as 60 sharefarmers who worked the land. Such a fascinating history!

We spent hours exploring the house and grounds, enjoyed coffee from the Art of Espresso and some divine Green Grove Organics chocolate from the Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory. By lunch time the crowd was so huge that we decided to head down the road to another historic property, Lower Coologong. It was originally settled in the 1850s, run by generations of the same family. These days the working cropping farm is also home to The Rustic Maze with a cafe, a beautiful garden and a totally gorgeous flock of dorper sheep.

The maze, with its tricky riddles and historic artifacts, was great family fun. The view was amazing, the garden so peaceful and the boys loved the giant outdoor chess set and trampoline. My favourite moment of the afternoon was when I sat quietly by myself on a garden seat in the winter sunshine, watching tiny fairy wrens flitting about the lawn and breathing in the heady scent of old tea roses.