One The Road Again with Wendy Hardreaves: Blackwood

On the Road Again with Wendy Hargreaves: Blackwood

This week Wendy and Grubby travel to Blackwood!


In the thick of lockdown, I had a recurring dream about road tripping to small towns. Not those well-heeled country destinations on the tourist trails. My dreams sent me to the little places we drive past on our way somewhere else. So I pitched the idea to 3AW... let’s do an hour of radio talking to people about tiny towns with big hearts. And “On the Road Again” was born in 2022, a literal dream come true for this country-born-and-bred journo living in Carlton. Every Sunday (outside of the AFL season) I join radio legend Peter “Grubby” Stubbs in the 3AW studio telling the stories of little country communities doing great things. But I digress. This is a thank you note to Blackwood, hands down the prettiest town I’ve visited since starting my radio segment.

Admittedly, it was a perfect summer day with the lightest of breezes, mild enough to sit on the stools outside the post office with one of Jeanette Darwen’s excellent toasted sangas. I’ll be back for a slice of Carol Guthrie’s Sicilian apple cake. Or maybe the snot block. Or both, as there are plenty of Wombat Forest bush hikes to burn off the calories.

There are so many reasons for a return visit. I’ll also need at least an hour for a try-on session at Karen Bruno’s legendary hat shop, and a whole weekend to get my zen on at Karen’s new Blackwood Retreat Centre. Or maybe longer?

This is a town with healing vibes. Shoulders drop and heartbeats slow. You can’t help it.

On my next visit, I’ll rent one of those charmingly retro on-site vans at the Blackwood Mineral Springs Caravan Park, sighing “aah the serenity” while drinking my bodyweight in mineral water (it really is the tastiest spring in Victoria’s Central Highlands). I’ll also totter up the hill to the pub for a nice cold beer, perching on the back verandah for a parma (and hopefully a few ghost stories from the locals). Perhaps I should move to this gorgeous pocket of the Wombat State Forest. Then I won’t miss impromptu gigs by the town’s swelling number of musicians, particularly Celtic songstress Fiona Ross.

I can’t wait to hear her at St Martin’s Chapel, which has to be one of the cutest performing spaces in the state. I could also spend hours wandering around Blackwood’s ancient cemetery. So much history, thoughtfully conserved.

So thank you, citizens of Blackwood. You’re doing great things. Warm regards, Wendy Hargreaves PS: I must apologise to Simon Daniel and the crew at Martin Street Coffee Roasters for the little nose print on your front window. I’d just missed your opening time and may have pressed my schnoz to the glass while checking out all the goodies inside. You had me a handmade chocolate, and I’ll be back for that too. For the Online audio of Wendy’s segment see: https://omny.fm/ shows/the-weekend-break/on-the-road-again-with-wendy-hargreavesblackwood or https://tinyurl.com/blackwoodfm * Wendy Hargreaves is a journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker with a focus on makers, growers and destinations. She spent decades writing for newspapers and magazines in Australia and abroad, and now happily runs her own content agency Bread & Butter Media (www. breadandbuttermedia.com.au). She loves making new connections, so reach out via Instagram (@wendy_hargreaves) or email (wendy@ breadandbuttermedia.com.au).