Discover this scenic drive peppered with convict-built bridges, villages of honey-coloured sandstone and bakeries.

The road north from Hobart climbs through farmland, past stone cottages and paddocks dotted with sheep. It could be a quick drive – barely two and a half hours if you stick to the Midland Highway and keep moving. But anyone who’s spent time in Tasmania knows that rushing a drive like this would miss the point entirely.

Convict-built bridges, villages of honey-coloured sandstone, bakeries with scallop pies still warm from the oven. The Midland Highway, also known as the Heritage Highway, rewards the unhurried.

We left Hobart early – if you’re departing on a Saturday, Salamanca Market makes a fine send-off, 300 stalls of pastries, cheese and coffee ideal for stocking the car – takeaway coffees in the cup holders and a loose plan to stop whenever something interesting appeared. Rather than heading straight north, we crossed the Tasman Bridge and looped east through Cambridge and Richmond before rejoining the Midland Highway. It added time to the drive. It was absolutely worth it.

Cambridge

Halfway between Hobart and Richmond sits Coal River Farm. It might be early, but when there’s a chocolate and cheese farm on the roadside, stopping is non-negotiable. Save room for the whole baked camembert drizzled with leatherwood honey and served with toasted sourdough and then wander the grounds while it settles.

Richmond

Just north of Cambridge the road rolls into Richmond, where honey-coloured sandstone buildings cluster around the Coal River and the smell of fresh pastry drifts from the bakery.

Start with Richmond Bridge, built by convicts in the 1820s and still the oldest bridge in Australia in use today. The graceful sandstone arches curve across the Coal River, where ducks glide beneath the bridge and locals linger on the grassy banks with coffee.

Then follow the scent of pastry to Richmond Bakery. The scallop pies here have achieved near-legendary status across Tasmania, and one bite explains why. Beneath the flaky golden pastry is a creamy filling of scallops in mild curry sauce.

Once you’ve eaten, wander through the village streets. Pop into Old Hobart Town, a meticulously detailed model village that recreates what Hobart looked like in the 1820s, complete with tiny ships in the harbour and miniature sandstone buildings.

For a glimpse into the harsher side of colonial life, step inside Richmond Gaol. Built more than 200 years ago, it’s one of Australia’s oldest surviving prisons. The thick sandstone walls, narrow corridors and solitary confinement cells make it easy to imagine how brutal life could be for the convicts once held here.

If you’re travelling with kids – or simply enjoy something a little offbeat – make time for the Pooseum. Yes, it’s a museum dedicated entirely to animal droppings. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s surprisingly fascinating. Owner Karin Koch happily explains the science behind it all, and the bathroom alone is worth visiting.

Kempton

Just north of Richmond, the route joins the Heritage Highway and rolls past Kempton – easy to miss, but hard to leave, especially if whisky is your thing.

The Old Kempton Distillery operates from a beautifully restored 1840s coaching inn, where small-batch whisky is distilled and aged on site using traditional methods. Stop in for a tasting flight, linger over the details of the old stone building, then browse the cellar door providor – it stocks local treasures like Olde Spikey Bridge peanut butter and Range Tasmania shortbread.

Just north of town, on the left side of the highway, Belgrove Distillery is doing things entirely on its own terms. Founder Peter Bignell grows his own barley and powers much of the operation on biofuels made from farm waste.

Oatlands

Pull over and just look. More than 150 sandstone buildings dating to the early 1800s line the streets of Oatlands – making it one of Australia’s most intact colonial towns, and the kind of place where the streetscape alone justifies the stop.

Before exploring, duck into Vintage on High, a charming cafe furnished with antiques, where homemade sausage rolls and generous slices of cake have earned a loyal following.

Rising above it all is Callington Mill, a commanding windmill built in 1837 and the only working mill of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Beside it, Callington Mill Distillery transforms locally grown grain into excellent Tasmanian whisky – stop in for a tasting or settle in for lunch with the mill as your backdrop.

Before leaving town, take a loop around Lake Dulverton. Along the water’s edge a series of sculptural cows peeking above the lake’s surface – a surreal scene that catches most visitors off guard.

Ross

Of all the stops on this drive, Ross is the one most likely to make you consider moving to Tasmania permanently. Elm-lined streets, honey-coloured Georgian buildings, a bridge covered in convict carvings, it feels barely touched since the 19th century.

The town’s most celebrated landmark is Ross Bridge, built in 1836 and covered in extraordinarily detailed sandstone carvings, 186 of them, depicting animals, Celtic motifs, local personalities and even the convict stonemason who made them, Daniel Herbert, whose skilled work reportedly earned him a pardon.

Just beyond the bridge, Ross Female Factory stands as one of Australia’s best-preserved convict sites. Walking through its stone ruins offers a powerful glimpse into the lives of the women transported here during the colonial era.

At the centre of town, the Four Corners of Ross intersection once mapped out a colonist’s moral universe: salvation at the church, damnation at the gaol, recreation at the town hall, temptation at the pub. If temptation wins – and it might – the Ross Hotel serves a Ross Burger that justifies the detour entirely.

Wool lovers should save time for the Tasmanian Wool Centre, where the story of the region’s pastoral heritage is told alongside racks of merino knitwear so soft it feels almost unreasonable.

Campbell Town

History runs deep in Campbell Town, and the best place to feel it is at Red Bridge, an imposing structure built in 1838 from more than 1.5 million locally fired bricks, designed by convict engineer James Blackburn.

After exploring the bridge, duck into The Book Cellar for coffee and a browse – a genuinely lovely bookshop tucked into the sandstone cellars of a former coaching inn dating back to the 1830s, where it’s very easy to lose an hour without noticing.

Longford

A detour west rewards with two of Tasmania’s most significant historic estates. Woolmers Estate and Brickendon Estate – both UNESCO World Heritage-listed – preserve some of Australia’s most significant convict-era history, with beautifully intact homesteads, farm buildings, and gardens that feel untouched by the intervening centuries.

Perth

Blink and you’ll miss it. Just south of Launceston, the small village of Perth is easily overlooked and shouldn’t be. More than 30 heritage buildings line the streets – old inns, churches and elegant sandstone homes – making it one of Tasmania’s most intact Georgian streetscapes.

Stop at the Tasmanian Honey Company to taste leatherwood honey, one of Tasmania’s most distinctive flavours. Nearby Southern Sky Cheese turns out handcrafted cheeses and a truffled butter so good it borders on indulgent.

Launceston

And then, after a day of unhurried stops and discoveries, the Heritage Highway delivers Launceston. Check in, exhale and let the city take over. Evenings here tend to revolve around exceptional food and drink – the local produce culture is serious and the pubs have a warmth that makes a nightcap or two feel entirely justified.

Heading the other way? Discover what it’s like to travel from Launceston to Hobart by coach