Event date: 18 August 2023

We began the day meeting at the Wellington Square Shopping Centre at Wallan. Ten cars joined us as we headed out to Romsey, enroute to Woodend and included cars from the E series up to the latest M2 (only 2 weeks old, believe it or not). 

Right from the start, we were treated to some very interesting driving. We navigated a long uphill section called Pretty Sally Hill (which is a dormant volcano) and then proceeded to Romsey along picturesque roads so often experienced in the Macedon Ranges. 

After Romsey, we proceeded to Woodend where we stopped to take a quick look around this very old town where the first settlement was established in the early 1840’s. This is where we first began to notice how very cold this part of the country can get and were pleased to have brought along some all-weather jackets. 

From Romsey, we continued on some very interesting roads to Kyneton. Being an old gold-rush town, Kyneton has many interesting buildings dating back to the 1850’s which we explored, while trying to dodge showers of rain and freezing winds. We all parked where we could, in the main street (Piper Street), because of the abundance of boutique shops, museums, art galleries, cafes and restaurants which minimised walking and helped us all stay together where possible. 

After our coffee break and exploration of Kyneton, we attempted to re-group on the outskirts of the town where we seemed to be missing a car. Unfortunately, a couple of members did not have UHF radios and therefore could not be contacted. We found them eventually and proceeded along the Bouke and Wills track towards Lancefield. 

Lancefield dates back to the early 1830’s and has many buildings from that period such as the Lancefield Courthouse (1859), Coach and Horses Inn (1845), Commercial bank of Australia (1859), the Mechanics Institute (1867) and Anglican Church (1845). We all gathered in the Lancefield Hotel (1853) for a very enjoyable lunch (the size of one member’s lunch had to be seen to be believed!) and conversation catch-up with old and new friends. We were delighted to welcome back Graham Thomas after his brush with some very serious health issues. So good to see him again, looking well. 

After being promised much rain by the Bureau of Meteorology, we were very relieved to only encounter a few showers during our day out, however the promised Arctic conditions were certainly delivered, not breaching 8.6 degrees the whole day. We thanked our very talented convoy leader Peter for the amazing job he did (and always does) in preparing our driving notes and for seeking out the very interesting and picturesque route for the day. 

After lunch we proceeded to Kilmore for a brief look and a few photographs, then farewelled the members traveling home in all directions. 

Ann Lane | Member #965
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne