Ararat Day Trip
About this event
Visit the historic City of Ararat, including Ararat's Old Gaol and Lunatic Asylum and the infamous J Ward, in the Grampians region of Western Victoria, where Gold was the flavour during the 19th century.
GRADE | LENGTH | TYPE: Easy urban walk and historic site visits, though we may encounter some minor inclines as we walk around town.
MEETING TIME | LOCATION: 8am for an 8:16am train departure | Southern Cross Station - meet inside the front carriage of the Ballarat/Ararat service.
MAP REFERENCE: Melway map X926 grid F2; Google map goo.gl/maps/pdd7zLUzJh52.
DISTANCE | TIME FROM GPO: 205km, approx 2.5 hours by train.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: We will travel from Southern Cross Station on the 8:16am Ballarat/Ararat service to arrive in Ararat at 10:41am. Return journey will be on the 5:45pm coach to connect with a train at Ballarat but for those who wish to return earlier there is a return train departing at 4:10pm. Those wishing to meet us in Ballarat or Ararat please arrange with event leader.
COST: Entry to Ararat's Old Gaol and Lunatic Asylum, and the infamous J Ward, costs $30. Entry to the Railway Museum is by gold coin donation. Please refer to www.ptv.vic.gov.au and www.vline.com.au for info regarding train fares.
FOOD: All available in Ararat but not on train, or BYO. A litre of water should be carried.
APPAREL | FOOTWEAR: Wear comfortable footwear for walking around town for moderate distances and dress appropriately for the weather forecast.
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: We will start our tour at the railway station where we purchase our combined tour tickets at the visitors centre then take a taxi or two to the former Aradale Asylum for our 2 hour guided tour (www.aradale.com.au). Afterwards we'll enjoy some lunch at the nearby cafe then walk back into town, approximately 30 minutes, via the Cemetery Creek walking track to visit the Railway Museum then on to "J Ward" (www.jward.org.au) for our second tour. After that we can take a stroll down the historic main street to inspect the many historic buildings and maybe enjoy some afternoon tea before heading to the railway station to join the coach for our return journey via Ballarat.
LEADER | RSVP: Peter N-G. | by Thursday 2nd August.
Photo: Darren West via www.jward.org.au.
