House in the Country

Today, Saturday - we decided to look at a house in the country. Well its a country town about 60 odd klms from the Melbourne CBD. Strangely enough its closer to work time wise than where we live now.
In the long term, work is not the issue with a little more than a year before retirement looms.

Not the house we inspected however it does have that. "Renovator's Opportunity" look about it. Seen on our travels today

It must date from those early 1851 gold rush days and possibly may have been an Inn for those walking to the diggings further up the track. Many of Victoria's towns were founded on a day's walk from each other for those travelling to make their fortune in gold.

The house we inspected is in Kyneton which is halfway between Melbourne and the large regional city of Bendigo. Kyneton has a foodie culture and a thriving tourist industry that sustains it today in spite of the main freeway bypassing the town.

Established in 1850, it predates the Victorian Gold Rush era by one year. Today it has a population of over 6500. Even with its modest population, we found it difficult to get a parking spot in the historic Piper street as the monthly Farmer's Market was in progress. The town runs its annual horse racing carnival, the Kyneton Cup and is central to many other historic towns in the region.

Built in the 1880s, the cottage retained many of its original features but lacked the modern amenities that we have grown use to in our more discerning years.

It did have charm but more suited to a couple with young children that would have the energy to bebuild the service areas of the house. The kitchen lacked the spark that a foodie like Sue would be happy with.

The house we inspected was a Victorian home circa 1880. It had heaps of charm but certain things let it down for modern living such as a cook's kitchen which is high on Sue's list. Nevertheless, the town itself does have endearing features and maybe, just maybe, we'll keep the area on our list

In the meantime, I have work to continue on our existing home. The outdoor deck is now coming to completion and the internal floorboards are being prepared for sanding and staining. The photos of the Kyneton house gives an example of how our floors will eventually look.

We return for four days in Launceston, Tasmania in February. It's their wine, food and arts Festivale and that should give us a more definite feel for the city that seems to have captured our imagination. Time will tell.