389. Two Lakes - Daylesford 8.8km

 U3A Hike No 389




Hike Report by Anne Ottrey

🦚 A Colourful Welcome

Twenty hikers turned up for this walk on a surprisingly cool January day. We welcomed 4 new members to our group – Sally, Paul, Pauline, and Pauline – easy names to remember! The walk commenced at the Jubilee Lake Reserve with a welcoming call from a peacock as Andrew started to introduce the walk.

🚂 Bridges and Brambles

We began at the trestle bridge, a remnant of the North Creswick to Daylesford Railway. We crossed on the low-level bridge provided for pedestrians, thinking about the trains which once would have travelled above us on this bridge. From here we entered a very prickly section of the walk, as blackberry canes reached out from either side of the track, trying to ensnare unwary hikers.

☕ Lake Views to Mine Shafts

The track undulated along, crossing the Ballan-Daylesford Road and branching around the back of Victoria Park onto Basin Road. We arrived at Lake Daylesford and followed the Lake track to our morning tea spot overlooking the beautiful waters of the Lake.

A bit of uphill walking led us to an area that was formerly mined by the Argus Company. We examined the capped mine shaft and mullock heap and passed two other mine adits as we continued on.

💧 Springs and Finish

We rejoined a section of the former railway track which now forms part of the Lerderderg Track and made our way back to Lake Jubilee. Most of us detoured to check out the spa waters at Jubilee Spring, described as having a “delightful palate” on one of the information boards, although one of the group described it as tasting of rusty old water.

We finished our 8.8km walk with a picnic lunch at the Lake Jubilee Reserve accompanied by a peacock and a number of interested kookaburras.

Thanks to Kim for leading the walk and Gordon for keeping us all together.


Photos by Andrew Parker










































LINKS

HISTORY NOTES (COMPLETELY REVISED)

HISTORY PODCAST   JUBILEE LAKE, HENDERSON TRAMWAY & WOMBAT DAM

HISTORY PODCAST   CRESWICK TO DAYLESFORD RAILWAY

THIS HIKE 2025

INTERACTIVE MAP

GOOGLE MAPS START POINT

DOWNLOAD GPX FILE





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