A lot of people told us to go to Mudgee. “If you like Hunter Valley you’ve GOT to go to Mudgee” they preached, and so we did.
After a four hour drive we soon realised it’s mainly Australians who believe this is the better version of the very popular wine region of Hunter Valley.
We concluded to which must be a nostalgia thing as I believe this is how The hunter Valley looked 30 years ago before it became commercialised. Or more Civilized as I have no concludes.
Now there’s no doubt about the beauty of the place. It’s lovely, quaint and being that it was winter, had a very British countryside vibe about it. However, my choice would still lie with Hunter Valley as a better place to visit. That of course would be solely down to the better choice of dining. The food makes and breaks a place for us. Mudgee had 2 pretty epic places to eat, The Zin house and Pipeclay Pumphouse. The rest is mainly pub grub.
What did make it special for us though was the very beautiful boutique cottage we stayed at. The Evelsea: Stunning grounds and a very nice cottage set amongst it. A roaring wood log fire inside and a pond right outside equip with a horse paddock next door for Venice to feed the horses whenever she could. It also had a fire pit, garden maze and enough little private picnic seating areas you felt like royalty sat amongst your own private grounds. This place made our trip for sure.