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Tag: Horses

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Clydesdale Experience in the Upper Hunter

Leroy About to Start Work Clydesdale Experience in the Upper Hunter

Clydesdale Experience in the Upper Hunter

Located in the Hunter Valley near Jerrys Plains, The Clydesdale Experience is a fantastic way to spend three hours. Not only do you get to see the horses up close, but you see them work and learn their history, all in the beautiful Hunter Valley.

Visits are by appointment only, which can be done through their website.

Meet the Clydesdales

Greeted by our hosts on arrival, we then met the four Clydesdales that currently call the farm home. While getting up close to the horses, we learned about them and the owners’ history with the breed. For such large animals, they were extremely gentle, although we were reminded to be careful as they are very strong.

  • Wilfred
    Wilfred

Morning Tea

After meeting the Clydesdales, our hosts put on morning tea and coffee. Very nice coffee and homemade scones and cakes, which were delicious! Two of the horses joined us in the shade while our hosts explained all about Clydesdales.

  • Hunter and Leroy at Morning Tea
    Hunter and Leroy at Morning Tea
  • Morning Tea Clydesdale Experience in the Upper Hunter
    Morning Tea

Working the Horses

After morning tea, we went out to the ploughing field where we had a demonstration of what Clydesdales could do. We started with a demonstration of old horse powered machinery, where the horse powers a pump or grain crusher.

We then saw ploughing and were able to take part by guiding the plough. This was great fun, and everyone had a turn.

All of this in the wonderful Hunter Valley with the Wollemi National Park as a back-drop.

  • Leroy About to Start Work Clydesdale Experience in the Upper Hunter
    Leroy About to Start Work
  • Barney
    Barney
  • Harvey Relaxing After a Hard Day Supervising
    Harvey Relaxing After a Hard Day Supervising

What Did We Think of the Clydesdale Experience?

This was an amazing experience, with friendly hosts and wonderful horses making it a great time. If you want to learn about Clydesdales, how they work or just want to get up close to them, this is a great experience. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Scone New South Wales Hunter Valley

Mare and Foal Sculpture Scone NSW Australia

Scone

Scone is 280km north of Sydney in the Upper Hunter Valley.  Famous for its horse breeding and agriculture, Scone has many historic buildings, making it s beautiful town to visit.

Scone Visitor Information and Elizabeth Park

Located on Kelly Street, the Visitor Information Centre and Elizabeth Park are a great place to start your visit to town. The park is shady, making it a nice place to relax after your drive. There is a statue of a mare and foal, representing the importance of the horse breeding industry to the area.

A bronze bust of Captain John Hunter, the former Governor of New South Wales sits in the park. The Hunter Valley was named after him in honour of his achievements in exploration around Australia. 

Across Susan Street is the Visitor information Centre, where you can find out about any interesting events or places to see that are not generally known about or have just become available.

Mare and Foal Sculpture Scone NSW Australia
Mare and Foal Sculpture
Scone Visitor Information Centre Scone NSW Australia
Scone Visitor Information Centre
Captain John Hunter Scone NSW Australia
Captain John Hunter

Kelly Street

Running through the centre of town, Kelly Street contains many old and important buildings. You will also find cafes, restaurants and pubs along this street, so if you are looking for something to eat, wander around here.

Scone Court House Scone NSW Australia
Scone Court House
Campbells Chambers Scone NSW Australia
Campbells Chambers
Barwick House Scone NSW Australia
Barwick House
Royal Hotel Scone NSW Australia
Royal Hotel
Campbell's Corner Scone NSW Australia
Campbell’s Corner

Kingdon Street

There are some great old buildings on Kingdon Street, including the first Catholic Church (now an arts centre) and the original court house (now a theatre).

Old Court House Scone NSW Australia
Old Court House

Washpools Water Hole

Washpools Water Hole is 20 km north of Scone in the Towarri National Park.  There are two area that you can stop in, the camp ground and picnic area. The picnic area is next to the wash pools and unless you plan an overnight stay is the best place to go.  It has picnic areas and shaded seats to eat at, so is well set up.

The wash pools are a nice series of water holes in the local creek and are picturesque, being set amongst trees and bushes and reflecting the blue sky. We spend an hour wandering around them taking photos and admiring the bush setting.

While we were there a pair of kookaburras sat in a tree watching us, probably hoping we would drop some food for them.

Washpools Water Hole Towarri National Park Scone NSW Australia
Washpools Water Hole
Kookaburras at Washpools Water Hole Scone NSW Australia
Kookaburras at Washpools Water Hole
Washpools Water Hole Towarri National Park Scone NSW Australia
Washpools Water Hole

Farming

Farming is important to the Scone district and you will see evidence of it as you drive around. The most obvious industry as seen from the New England Highway is horse breeding. You will pass many horse studs as you drive into and out of town.  On the side roads you will some across other agriculture, ranging from cropping to cattle and sheep.  In some fields you will see some old abandoned farm equipment, which makes for an interesting photo.

Old Farm Equipment Scone NSW Australia
Old Farm Equipment
Drought Stricken Tree Scone NSW Australia
Drought Stricken Tree

Burning Mountain

Burning Mountain is 25 km north of Scone. The walk begins in the Burning Mountain Rest Area, where you will find toilets and plenty of parking. For the full story of our Burning Mountain walk, please follow the link.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.