Trentham, Daylesford and Taradale trip

This weekend is AFL footy finals, however since I don't follow AFL Vanessa and I organized a girls trip to Daylesford :)!! I've been wanting to explore the Western mountain area for a while, so it was good chance to get away. 

I picked up Claire and I was so glad she came even though Esther wasn't coming. We'd only met a couple of times at church. Anyway, Vanessa, Carol, Kristy and Steph came together and we decided to meet for brunch at the Red Beard bakery in Trentham! It has so many great review from judges on Masterchef~

It was hidden away in this dirt side street.

Inside was really cosy. It was a pretty cold and wet day, but the atmosphere was warm inside. I liked the busy feeling of the cafe and the coffee was excellent. I would definitely come here again if I am around the area. 

Their specialty is sourdough, and oh man, it was sooooo delicious! I've had sourdough in city and suburb cafes before, but I've never liked it much. However after my brunch here I absolutely love it!
Claire and I checked out a bookstore before brunch and talked to the store keeper. He told us to visit Trentham falls, so after brunch we headed up the road for 5 mins and appreciated the waterfall. 

You couldn't get too close, but it was nice watching it. There's something peaceful and also enchanting about watching nature. Then we headed to Daylesford Lake. 

Unfortunately it was raining/drizzling so we didn't stay for long. I don't know if I would visit again? There wasn't actually much to see around the lake, though I suppose it's good for an afternoon walk. 

After the lake we went to The Amazing Mill Market! It is a humongous market full of weird and antique things. It was pretty fun to walk around because I like treasure hunts. 

There was one section that was filled with spooky things. I didn't buy anything in the end, but it was interesting to walk around. When we got bored and tired we headed to Daylesford's cider brewery. The moment I passed through the hedge, it felt like I was in a different world. It was truly so calm, beautiful and comforting. I was totally charmed by the countryside feel. 

We shared a taste rack thing. Only some of them were sparkling and carbonated. I think most of us preferred the sparkling ones because it's more mainstream. 

And then we shared some desserts ^^ Apple crumble and sticky date, so good~

We were mellowed out after this, but we needed to go food shopping and head to our accommodation in Taradale! I booked us this little cottage in the Taradale House Estate. It's quite secluded from the main road and is a bunch of little cottages on a big piece of land. It was so homey and cottage-y, I loved, loved, loved it! I wanna go back again in summer and book out the whole thing!

We stayed in the Gardener's cottage (in the background) :) 

Claire and I slept upstairs in this neat attic area. 

They had an awesome separate arcade room at the back as well. It was filled with electronic video games, movies, literal arcade shooting/basketball games, table tennis and foosball. I was surprised that we had the whole place to ourselves, it was great! 

As night settled in we made dinner and tried setting a fire, but hahaha we seemed to be more successful in burning the food than the wood! Jokes, we had a successful dinner...but at one stage there was a lot of smoke coming from the oven!

Aww yeah, can't have a cottage without a good hearty fireplace! 

While some of us were cooking/playing with the fireplace, Carol and Vanessa headed to the sauna to start the fire there! Our own private sauna was the best~! 

We celebrated Steph's birthday as well, and Vanessa pulled out some wine that Jeremy had secretly prepared for her ^^ 

After dinner we played in the arcade room for quite a while :P
It was an intense round of table tennis and in the end Claire and I lost...so we had to prepare the sauna again. We ended the night chatting away in the sauna. It was so fun spending time with everyone ^^
We managed to fit in a lot of activities and to spend the rest of the night in a sauna was so relaxing. 

The next morning I woke up early (as always) and walked around the estate. There was a soccer area and pool in the other cottage areas. Each cottage is quite close together and they have a rose garden as well. So picturesque! 

There wasn't much else to explore in Daylesford the next day. We went to a market in a school, but decided to go to Laksa King in Flemington :P 

It was such a nice getaway. Short and sweet, but exactly what I needed. The accommodation really exceeded my expectations, so I was really happy.