Little-known must-visit spots in Victoria’s Central Highlands

VICTORIA’S Central Highlands is a popular tourist destination steeped in history and we’ve hunted down a list of some hidden gems you may not know about.

Nimmons timber trestle bridge in Ballarat. Picture: Sarah Matray

• Hidden gems in Melbourne’s CBD
• Little-known spots in Gippsland for food, fun
• Melbourne’s hidden hot spots of the South, Southeast
• Northern suburbs delights you may not have heard of

THINK you know the best the Central Highlands has to offer?

We’ve searched high and low to find the hidden gems across our great state.

From the Devil’s Kitchen to the a hidden laneway bar, here’s some lesser-known gems the Central Highlands has to offer.

HIDDEN GEMS OF MELBOURNE’S WEST

NIMMONS BRIDGE

Galatea Rd, Newtown. ballaratskiptonrailtrail.com

Nimmons Bridge is one of the largest and most impressive timber trestle rail bridges in Victoria. The picture-perfect bridge, near Newtown, is part of the 53km Ballarat-to-Skipton Rail Trail, which takes in sights and structures from Victoria’s gold mining past. At the bridge there are picnic tables and information boards. And you can walk across it.

DEVIL’S KITCHEN

Scarsdale

With a red rock landscape reminiscent of the Northern Territory, Devil’s Kitchen, 30km southwest of Ballarat, offers rock-climbing, abseiling and bushwalking. The steep-sided gorge of basalt cliffs, flanking the Woady Yaloak River, was part of a bustling deep lead goldfield in the 1850s — evidence of which still exists. Devil’s Kitchen also has a swimming hole and picnic area.

BUNINYONG PARKOUR PARK

Corner Forest and Ingliss streets, Buninyong

Parkour is now so mainstream parks dedicated to it are popping up everywhere. One of the best outside Melbourne is in Buninyong, 10km out of Ballarat. The colourful park has lots of interesting obstacles, walls, a soft landing surface, as well as concrete and wooden ledges for bounding off. There’s also a skate park, BMX track, basketball court and picnic tables nearby.

TALBOT FARMERS’ MARKET

Heritage precinct, Scandinavian Cres and Camp St, Talbot.talbotfarmersmarket.org.au

The Talbot Farmers’ Market, held on the third Sunday of each month, is not an average market. Think live pigs, not potpourri. The market began in 2004 as one of the earliest farmers’ markets in regional Victoria and is now one of the best. It boasts more than 80 stalls.

HOP TEMPLE

Rear of 24-28 Armstrong St, Ballarat. hoptemple.com.au

Down a lane festooned with upturned umbrellas and in through a door with no discernible signage ... that’s how you arrive at Hop Temple. But once you discover Ballarat’s most elusive bar, it will become one of your favourites. That’s because it has 16 beers on tap and dozens more by the bottle. The food is made for drinking, from Western Plains pork ribs to Panko-crumbed mac ’n’ cheese and pulled chicken pizzas.