The Little Apple

A few weekends ago, Trent and I took our first holiday alone since Orsie was born and what a nice break it was. No early wake-ups, no middle of the night feeds... just the two of us chilling out in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Well, in the little town of Bilpin to be more precise.

As you can see below, the cabin was tiny (the Disco gave it a run for its money size wise) but not short on charm and warmth. For some reason, I neglected to read up on our digs before arriving (most unlike me, must have been busy sterilising bottles) and so I found myself worrying all the way up the Bells Line of Road about whether or not there would be an open log fire in our cabin. Ah yes, there was, and she was a real beauty.

Bilpin is tucked away up in the Blue Mountains (up the hill from Richmond) and as you probably know, is best known for its fruit - particularly apples. We stayed at the very cosy Ghost Hill Road b&b www.ghosthillroad.com.au hosted by welcoming and energetic Brenda McCartney. Brenda owned a yoga studio in Sydney for 20 years before making the tree change to Bilpin with her husband to open Ghost Hill Road.  She takes a yoga class every morning on the sun drenched verandah of her home at 9am. I however, had to give that a miss. After all, I had a date with my old pal SLEEP.


We dined at the nearby Apple Bar in Bilpin (below) and fell in love with their signature pizzas. I took care of a chevre and prosciutto pizza and Trent inhaled the pizza chorizo. It seems weird to be blown away by a salad, but blown away we were by the delicious rocket, pear, pine nut and pecorino salad. So good. Of course no meal is complete without pudding and for us it was the very rich and luscious flourless Belgian chocolate cake.

In my opinion, one can't journey to the Blue Mountains (or the Southern Highlands for that matter) without partaking in the ritual that is the Devonshire Tea and so we did. Once again, we weren't disappointed. Brenda recommended Sassafrass Creek www.sassafrascreek.com.au and for good reason. We were a little sceptical about what sort of tucker we would find in nearby Kurrajong but this little gem delivered. The perfect scones - warm, comforting and delicate accompanied with just enough jam and cream. The cafe also serves as a gift shop and local artisans (of which there seem to be many) and crafty types sell their wares here. Once again proving that one can shop in the most unlikely of destinations.