Top tips for a weekend drive to Bathurst
Great roads, great restaurants, wineries and unmatched motor sport history.Bathurst, NSW
Close to: Sydney. Up Bells Line of Road via Mudgee. 200km west of the harbour city.
Day or weekend: Weekend, so stay at Mudgee Homestead Guesthouse and enjoy stunning views
Like any escape from the city, an early departure for Bathurst brings payback for driving enjoyment. Those south of Sydney will pass Sydney Motorsport Park on the way to climbing the Blue Mountains via Katoomba and Lithgow.
If you’re taking off from the city and suburbs north or east, head up the Bells Line of Road past Richmond, 65km west of Sydney’s CBD. Seasons of Kurrajong is a great café for breakfast, and an opportunity to take in the first of many breathtaking views available from various mountain locations on this route.
From there it’s the sinuous climb up past Bilpin and its apple orchards en route to Mount Tomah followed by the incredible dips and ascents to the top of the deck at Bell. Then it’s all downhill to Lithgow, the mining town 142km from Sydney famous for the historic Zig-Zag Railway and the maximum-security prison on the Great Western Highway in nearby Marrangaroo.
After Lithgow, to reach Mudgee you’ll need to hook on to the Castlereagh Highway for the short run via Ilford. Over the last decade or so, Mudgee has transformed from the country town with a funny name to a culturally rich regional tourist hot-spot surrounded by a growing number of wineries. Located about 5km from town down Buckaroo Lane, Short Sheep is one of several Mudgee micro-wineries that you may wish to visit.
There is plenty of accommodation in and around Mudgee, but you may want to check out the Mudgee Homestead Guesthouse five minutes from town. After dining out in one of Mudgee’s many restaurants and getting a tranquil country town sleep, day two brings a 130km drive to Bathurst via the Sofala Road. To experience one of the great driving experiences in Australia, just turn right at Ilford for the 30km run to the former gold mining town of Sofala.
This superb ribbon of bitumen follows a series of steep ridges then drops away to sweeping valleys before climbing back up to blind switch-backs and long, winding esses. You can check out the sleepy town of Sofala, where The Cars That Ate Paris was filmed, or carry on along Sofala Road to Bathurst and the Mount Panorama race circuit.
As well as the Bathurst 1000, six and 12-hour races, Mount Panorama hosts 300 events during the year so you may want to confirm beforehand whether the famous two-way roadway is open to the public.
Located on the outside of the circuit in the shadow of the bridge heading to the pits is the National Motor Racing Museum which will be appreciated even if motorsport isn’t your thing. A trip to the top of the mountain to see the Peter Brock memorial is also recommended.
Of course, there is much more to Bathurst than motor racing. The town is a major rural hub, home of Charles Sturt University, Abercrombie Caves is close-by and there’s even a championship golf course.
You are spoilt for choice when it comes to restaurants in Bathurst, The Lazy Sunday Afternoon is a monthly wine tasting at the beautiful Abercrombie House, a few kilometres out of town, and the Farmer’s Market at Bathurst Showgrounds provides some tasty treats.
From there, it’s 200km back to Sydney’s CBD after a fun and fulfilling weekend away across the Blue Mountains, to unique wineries and the citadel of Australian motor racing.
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