The Blue Mountains

Recently we made a quick overnight trip to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains. I’m not sure how we managed it, but I’m pretty sure we picked the first real ‘wintery’ weekend and weather they’d had up there for the year. It was freezing! And for some reason, I’d agreed to camp in Fran’s roof tent.

Anyway, we didn’t let the cold stop us from walks into town and a short hike in the mountains.

We’ve done a few trips to the Blue Mountains now and always try and check out something new, as well as visit old favourites.

We didn’t feel like hiking when we arrived so instead opted for old favourites, exploring the town of Katoomba, eventually ending up at The Carrington Hotel.

I love walking up the main street of Katoomba and checking out the mix of outdoor and antique/ trinket stores. There’s definitely a varied retail offering.

The Carrington Hotel had the fireplace going in the lounge area which was perfect for enjoying a quiet drink away from the cold outside (I also love their little store at the back of the hotel which sells a great selection of cheese and wine, two of my favourite things).

For dinner that evening we tried a restaurant we’d never been to before which apparently used to split its menu between American focused food (think burgers and mac n cheese) and a bistro menu, upstairs versus downstairs. Palette Dining recently did a bit of a remake of their menu and offering and now offer both menus regardless of where you’re seated. We went for the bistro food choices, but the burgers looked pretty good.

The following day was a struggle to get going; the roof tent was surprisingly warm, it was just outside that was the problem. However the knowledge we were going out for breakfast helped.

For breakfast we headed into Leura and treated ourselves to homemade scones with jam and cream at Bon Ton, before doing a quick round of the main street.

From Leura we headed to Echo Point and The Three Sisters, a rock formation that no trip to the Blue Mountains is complete without (even if we’ve been there a handful of times before).

A quick coffee at the café with a view and we were on our way, heading this time to Butterbox Point, about a 40 minute drive from town.

Mike wanted a dirt road for Fran and I just wanted a short walk (I can’t really call what we did a hike), and this met the brief.

The road out wasn’t really a challenge for Fran (we saw a few corolla type cars on it which I’d be less sure about), but she got some dirt on her.

The trail we went for a wander along wasn’t super long or challenging, but had some good views and you can kind of understand why they’re called the ‘Blue’ mountains.

Later on, back in town, we grabbed what was a very late lunch (bordering early dinner), before heading back to Sydney. This time we checked out Station Bar and Woodfire Pizza. This place is pretty cool with a healthy selection of pizzas and a nice bar.

I’m sure we’ll be back in the Blue Mountains again over the coming months, always a good excuse to escape Sydney and enjoy some fresh air, even if a tad chilly!