South Australia’s Clare Valley is one of four premier winegrowing regions within an hour and a half of Adelaide. North of the city en route to the Flinders Ranges, it’s where ‘the bush meets the vines’ and is most famous for producing top-quality riesling. But if you’re not into wine, is it still worth the visit?

The short answer is absolutely. The long answer comes in the following ‘Claytons’ tour of the Clare Valley.

Only people of a certain generation will remember the Claytons commercials on television. Claytons was a non-alcoholic beverage coloured and packaged to resemble bottled whisky, marketed in the 1980s as “the drink you have when you’re not really having a drink!” In the same vein, this is the Clare Valley tour you have when you’re not having the wine tour. 

For all the horrified wine lovers out there, I didn’t completely ignore the world-famous wines or the 37 cellar doors, but I made sure that wherever we did stop to taste wine, there was another reason to be there as well.

Gladstone Gaol is a trip through history

RIVERTON

The tiny town of Riverton is a great place to start on this mid-north meander through the Clare Valley.

The old railway line from Riverton to Auburn has been converted into a walking/cycle rail trail, and is known as the Rattler Trail.

Joining the Riesling Trail at Auburn, it provides a 43km route from Riverton through the heart of the Clare Valley to the north.

AUBURN

The historic gateway to Clare Valley, this is the home of poet C.J. Dennis who created The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. Grab the National Trust brochure and walk with history around town, getting a great view of the surrounding bush and vines at the lookout. Leasingham, just down the road, is a good place to stop for the night if you want to hit the trail from the southern end or just be close to the Watervale Hotel for dinner.

At Port Broughton Caravan Park

WATERVALE RESTAURANT

Built of pine and pug coated in limestone, this hotel — originally called the Stanley Arms Inn — first opened in 1847. It has since had a multi-million-dollar refurbishment at the hands of Warrick Duthy and Nicola Palmer, who have done an excellent job of maintaining the original character and façade of the hotel while adding a new kitchen and beer garden as modern touches. You can dine in an intimate historic room inside or go casual in the beer garden outside and hope that you’ve scored a night when the pizza oven or outside grill is fired up.

If you’re in a group, try the Hell Hole — the old jail built at the back of the hotel in 1868.

Ask about Warrick and Nicola’s Penobscot Farm tours to see the organic and biodynamic crops that supply the restaurant with produce.

North Beach, at Wallaroo, is a welcome pit stop

WATERVALE GENERAL STORE

Much more than a cafe, this little gem is great for RV owners. Have you cracked your casserole dish, dropped a cup, or smashed a glass? Do you need an old-fashioned toast holder, thermos, or how about a cat pillow?

It’s all here, and then some. The general store here is exactly what your grandma might have known a general store to be in the ‘good old days’.

You can top up on groceries, buy a souvenir, post a letter, search in the back shelves for second-hand goodies, or just stop for a cuppa and something to eat.

MINTARO

From Watervale, take a detour along a section of the Lavender Federation Trail to Mintaro.

Mintaro owes its origins to copper mining in Burra, which is further north. The village was established as a stopping point for bullock wagons transporting copper to Port Wakefield, but it is best known as a producer of high-quality slate. The tiny village is full of slate structures such as buildings, chimneys, tanks, and paving. It’s worth stopping at the Magpie and Stump Hotel and Reilly’s Restaurant to soak up some of the history before losing yourself in the Mintaro Maze.

Watervale Hotel’s modern beer garden is calling...

MARTINDALE HALL

When you look at Martindale Hall just out of Mintaro you can only imagine the impact it would have had on the locals.

An impressive 32-room Georgian-style sandstone mansion that sits high above the surrounding farmland, it was featured in the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Complete with polo ground, racecourse, boating lake, and cricket pitch, it cost Edmund Bowman Jnr £30,000 to build in 1880 — equivalent to about $4.6 million in today’s currency.

Debt and drought forced Bowman to sell the property to the Mortlock family in 1891.

Martindale Hall now stands as a reminder of a grand past.

Martindale Hall has a history on the big screen

POLISH HILL RIVER

I know I said no wineries, but Pikes is an exception as it has Slate restaurant and a brewery as well.

Next is Sevenhill Cellars for the views and the history.

Sevenhill is the oldest winery in the Clare Valley, established in 1851 by the Jesuits.

We learnt that a Spanish mercenary called Inigo is to thank for the Jesuits and Sevenhill wines, having founded the Jesuits back in the 16th century when he traded a life of violence for one dedicated to helping others. Father Kranewitter, a Jesuit priest, came to Adelaide in 1848 with 100 German and Silesian migrants, settling in the Clare Valley after buying 100 acres of land and naming the property Sevenhill in honour of the seven hills of Rome. There are cellars underneath the tasting room to explore and a crypt underneath St Aloysius Church, which is the final resting place for 41 Jesuits.

THE OLIVE BUS

The Olive Bus is an eclectic stop on the edge of an olive grove, surrounded by vineyards.

It’s a licensed cafe complete with a gin bar and full of fantastic mismatched, hand-made furniture.

As the name suggests, think all things olive — including the farm’s Stone Ridge Olive Oil. The menu is fresh and seasonal; think bruschetta, muesli with yoghurt, toasted sandwiches, soup, baked potatoes on Saturdays, pizzas on Sundays, and good coffee.

Slate Restaurant at Pikes is popular

CLARE VALLEY WINE FOOD AND TOURISM CENTRE

Not your average information centre, this is your one-stop shop for details on what to see and do in the valley, coffee and a snack, local produce, arts and crafts. It’s located on the corner of Horrocks Highway and Spring Gully Road right next to the Discovery Caravan Park.

SPRING GULLY SCENIC DRIVE

This 22km loop will take you along gum-tree lined roads — some sealed and some with a good gravel surface — often next to creeks and with a backdrop of grapevines.

Stop at Spring Gully Lookout for a view over farmlands on the Adelaide Plains. You can start the loop from the Tourism Centre.

Wallaroo Bond Store

RIESLING TRAIL

In 1994, a section of the old railway line that ran from Adelaide to Spalding was turned into the Riesling Trail for walking and cycling. Starting at the former Auburn Railway Station, the trail is now used by Mount Horrocks Wines before wending its way north to Leasingham, Watervale, Penwortham, and Clare before ending at Barinia. You can walk the 33km trail in nine hours or cycle it in about 2.5 hours. There are three optional loops. Bike hire is available at Clare and Auburn, and parking can be found in Clare, Sevenhill, Watervale, and Auburn.

Note: The winery lure may be hard to resist as the trail passes many cellar doors, with some offering delivery to your accommodation.

Wineries everywhere!

CLARE

Clare is the valley’s regional centre and main service town with banks, fuel and supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants. Street art brings the region’s history to life and boutique shops offer as much retail therapy as you like. There’s also a great op shop in the main street

The Old Police Station and Courthouse Museum — which was Clare’s first public building — now showcases local memorabilia. Gleeson Wetlands is within walking distance from the town centre.

A view over the vineyards

GLADSTONE GAOL

From Clare, head north along Horrocks Highway for about 80km to Gladstone for a tour of the Gladstone Gaol. You’ll take in all sorts of interesting snippets such as how it was originally built in 1881 from stone quarried locally to shelter “inebriates, debtors, and other prisoners”.

Men went to work in local market gardens while the women were kept busy with laundry duties, knitting socks, mending clothes, and making shirts. In 1939 it was handed over to the military for an internment camp for Italian and German nationals during WWII. Considered outdated in 1975, it was closed before being turned into a tourist attraction in 1978.

Category: Destinations
Written: Tue 01 June 2021
Printed: June, 2021
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