Exploring Mudgee: How to spend a weekend

Mudgee is a small country historical town located 268 km northwest of Sydney, past the Blue Mountains. It is surrounded by dozen of wineries, which is the obvious reason visitors flock to the colonial town. The food scene in Mudgee has a lot to offer too with an array of restaurants and cafes lining the main street. Mudgee is about a 3 and a half hour drive from Sydney, making it a perfect distance for a weekend break or an extended weekend throwing in a stop off in the Blue Mountains on the way.

Best time of year to visit:

Spring and Autumn are undoubtedly the best time to year to visit Mudgee. Due to its inland location, it can get bitterly cold during the winter and extremely warm during the summer, neither of which make ideal conditions for sitting in vineyards sipping wine. The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Spring (Sept- Nov) which make a gorgeous backdrop to vineyard photos. The night time is still chilly (lows of 7 degrees) but the days are sunny and dry in general. In non COVID times, September is when the calendar peaks with the Mudgee Food and wine festival which is a month long feast celebrating the local farmers and restaurants with dinners, open-air markets and live music.

Where to stay

There are several options for accommodation in mudgee from modest Airbnbs, more luxury hotels, cottages, glamping and budget motels.

Air bnb:

• We rented an Airbnb for the weekend which was about a 10 minute walk form the town centre. It was called Rose Villa in a complex of 4 houses. It was perfect for 6 people with three rooms, garden with outdoor seating, heating/AC, big kitchen and bathroom and separate toilet. It was so reasonable for the weekend ($550) and had plenty of parking outside. Click here to find the air bnb.

Hotels:

• Perry Street Hotel. This boutique hotel is apart of the Peppertree Hill Group. If you are looking for a more upmarket option, either Peppertree Hill Cottages or the hotel is a lovely choice. It is ranked number 1 on tripadvisor for places to stay in Mudgee. Prices for midweek start at $210 midweek for one night pp sharing and $250 on the weekends.
• Cobb & court hotel. A luxury boutique hotel with an vintage style to it with an onsite restaurant. The location of this hotel is excellent, right in the town centre. Rooms start at $180 midweek and $210 on the weekends.
• Parkview Hotel Mudgee. Located right on the main street, the hotel stands out as a distinguishable heritage building that has been renovated with the historical architecture well preserved. The hotel comprises of 7 suites which start at $195 at low season and off peak times. They have a lovely cafe serving breakfast and brunch but only until 11.30 am, The Coffee House. Food is lovely, albeit small portions but took an hour to get our food so don’t be in a hurry!

Motel:

Central Motel Mudgee. Pretty dinging looking but does the job of somewhere to stay, private twin room and bathroom, cheap and in th centre of town.

Cottages:

• Peppertree Hill. Luxury farm accommodation about a ten minute drive from the town centre. They have a number of gorgeous oversized cottages which sleep anything from 2 up to 15 people overlooking private farmlands. Great for renting out for parties or group trips away.

Wineries

The highlight of any tour to Mudgee is, of course, the wineries. It tenders to get overshadowed by Hunter Valley but the award winning wineries of Mudgee are becoming increasingly popular and it wasn’t hard to see why. We booked a tour of the wineries which included three wineries through Mudgee VIP Wine Tours. You can choose from a half day (10am-1pm or 1.30pm -4.30pm) for $85 or a full day for $130 which includes 5-6 wineries (10am-4pm). A lunch break is included in the full day although lunch itself is not. In one of the wineries a tasting fee of $5 was charged but in general it is usually included, COVID has caused the wineries to close or operate at reduced capacity so hence the fee.

Bunnamagoo

This was one of the nicest wineries on the tour, the cherry blossom trees and lake side setting was beautiful.

Lowe Wine

My favourite of all the wineries was Lowe’s. We booked into a tasting for $10 on Friday evening, in time to catch the last of the warm sunshine and the golden hour, before watching the sunset over the lake. The setting for the tastings and surrounding scenery is so picturesque. The recycled wood jetty juts out onto the reflecting lake and the lover’s swing overlooks the vineyards. The staff are very knowledgeable explained how the vineyards are certified organic & biodynamic. They serve mixed cheese and bread platters to pair with wine which looked great.

Eating

Eltons : A casual and vibrant restaurant on the main street with a modest and reasonable menu serving lunch and dinner Tuesday- Sunday. The menu is mainly burgers, tacos, small bites and salads. They have a good wine list and craft beer on tap.

Cafe 89: Nice cafe with outdoor seating on the main street. Good coffee, great food, quick and efficient service. Decent portions and everything from fully loaded big fry up to veggie breakfast bowls with grilled zucchini, poached eggs and halloumi.

The Coffee House at Park View Hotel: Lovely cute cafe off the Park View hotel. The cafe closes at 11.45 am so it only serves breakfast. The food is good, albeit small portion sizes and it takes an age to arrive. If you have an hour to wait for food, it’s a pleasant cafe to spend a slow morning in their sunny courtyard.

Mudgee Brewery Co: A microbrewery in the centre of Mudgee serving breakfast through to dinner. The menu is extensive and looks great. It was fully booked out the weekend we were there and not taking walk ins which can only be a good sign if they were that packed out. The brewing takes place in a rustic 100-year-old red brick former wool store, creating beers ranging from Mudgee Mud to pale ales.

Roths Wine Bar: Cool setting with seating in what is like a converted barn out the bar of the front of the restaurant. The place was hopping and had great character but unfortunately the food didn’t live up to the hype. The pizzas were mediocre at best and the salads seemed to be a bag of rocket leaves with some dressing. The service also left a lot to be desired. That said, it was nice for a few drinks and they do a good selection of cocktails.

Drinking

Wolfpack Hotel: This seems to be the place to go for a few drinks. It was lively enough on a Friday night and has a chinese restaurant doing cheap and cheerful food to the side of it.

Kelly’s Irish Bar: The home to the only “night club” (being extremely generous) in Mudgee. Your typical Irish bar serving average pub grub, pokies area and upstairs nightclub. As we visited during COVID we got to witness the waiting line of musical chairs to get up to the nightclub. There was about 20 people sitting on chairs in a circle waiting for someone to come down from the nightclub, meaning they let one more person up and the patrons patiently waiting would high five each other and shuffle up one seat. Inching closer to getting admitted into the club where apparently social distancing doesn’t exist and COVID can only be transmitted on ground level.

On the way to/from Mudgee:

Capertree National Park: There isn’t a whole lot between the Blue Mountains and Mudgee but we did make a stop off in Capertee National Park. I wouldn’t advise going in here without 4WD! We have left the bottom of two outlanders somewhere between the dirt track and the main road back towards Sydney. Not a whole heap to see in the park, it’s fairly barren but nice for a stroll and break up the journey.

Royal Hotel Capertree: I think we will all go to our graves dreaming of the garlic bread served here. It was like it was marinated for days in garlic butter and fried to perfection. The pub has a really cos, country feel with a fire and stag’s heads on the walls. This a great place to spot off for food or a drink en route to/ from Mudgee.