Clunes Booktown: The Booklover's Festival

The one festival that needs to be on every bookworm’s to-do list.

There are few things more pleasurable than falling headfirst into a good book – except, perhaps, falling headfirst into a town full of them. It’s exactly what you’ll find in Clunes. The quaint hamlet in the heart of Victoria’s goldfields, which, since 2007, has been host to the Booktown Festival, an annual two-day event that brings together more than 60 booksellers across Victoria.

What’s a Booktown?

According to the International Organisation of Book Towns (and there are 17 official Book Towns across the world), a Book Town is “a small rural town or village in which second-hand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated."

Mostly, the organisation says, they develop in villages “of historic interest or of scenic beauty". Clunes is both of those in spades.

Clunes Booktown Festival, Victoria — Festival-goers search through piles of books.

Arriving at the Festival

When you lay your eyes on the surrounding environs, it’s not hard to see why what started as a humble day-long event has turned into a two-day festival. Burnt orange leaves adorn the drooping trees that mark the town’s entrance, while many of the buildings lining its busiest street remain unchanged from the gold rush days of the 19th-century. Despite being relatively close to Melbourne (90 minutes north-west of the CBD), it retains the nostalgic feeling of a town where time stands fantastically still.

Festival-goers can discover the largest collection of rare, out-of-print and collectable books in Australia, whilst exploring heritage buildings, listening to live music, watching street performers, enjoying local wines and produce with fellow literature lovers.

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Purchases

Barely 30 minutes pass before I make my first purchase. Run by the affectionately monikered ‘Bookie’, Melbourne institution The Book Grocer has been bringing its collection of new fiction, essays, art books and even military texts to the festival at its standard price of $10 a book for the past six years. Bookie tells me it’s one of his favourite times of the year (perhaps because it guarantees delicious nosh at the nearby Farmer’s Arms in Daylesford, where we spy him later that night).

And even though $10 a book might be on the steeper side of prices here (other stalls are selling second-hand books for what appears to be a handful of beans), I still lumber to the car with The Best Australian Essays 2010, Jamie Oliver’s America and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nocturnes before returning for more.

The Experience

There’s something a little bit magical about the place, with wonderfully costumed characters strolling the streets as if they materialised just for this occasion. The theme was Alice in Wonderland, so it wasn’t uncommon to pass by the odd White Rabbit or Cheshire Cat browsing the stacks. In the background, sounds of a big brass band tinkle through the streets, melding with the distinct scent of a proper country sausage sizzle.

Squint your eyes hard enough and you could almost imagine yourself thrust into the middle of a picture book or a painting – as if you’d been spirited away by one of Roald Dahl’s witches, or transported through a colourful chalk drawing by the magical Mary Poppins.

Of course, half the fun of being in an open-air festival is the people watching. Under the crisp winter sky, I watch with delight as children run wild in a straw maze or gather for a tea party with the Mad Hatter. I eavesdrop surreptitiously as a passionate autodidact discusses Japanese military history at a stall devoted to such things.

There is a particular kind of joy that comes from observing hobbyists stumble upon obscure additions to their collection. I feel it myself when I later find an old pregnancy manual complete with illustrations and the retro advice of a pre-feminist era. It seems Booktown really has something for everyone.

According to Bookie, rumour has it Clunes established Booktown because it wanted to avoid being lumbered with the tag of ‘sewerage town’, after a 10-year battle to prevent a stand-alone system looked set to fail. The town decided it was better to be known for books than waste. And who can blame them? Outside of festival time, Clunes boasts eight bookstores and two online traders. The festival not only has a huge selection of books (new and used), but roving buskers, performances, and a series of talks with authors – all for the grand entry fee of $5.

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Surrounds

Of course, one can’t mention Clunes without also acknowledging how close it is to Victorian spa country which, naturally, calls for one to make a weekend of it. We retreat that evening to our little rental on the lake at Daylesford and, by the warm light of our gas log fire, peruse our newfound purchases with all the enthusiasm that only good books can bring.

The Details

The annual Booktown festival happens at the beginning of May.

And if you’re around the area any other time of the year, Clunes has got you covered with Booktown on Sunday. Happening on the third Sunday of every month, writers come around and hold a series of talks, absolutely free. Whether you’re a budding author yourself or just a book-worm, this town is the hub of ideas and the arts.

Check out Dayget for great accommodation in Daylesford.

See photographer Jesse Booher’s ‘Fly on the wall in Booktown’ photo essay.

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat, now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate, whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor, who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will, who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods. “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield, embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House.

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument, which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds.

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens, hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Clunes Booktown is the 2-day festival every bookworm needs to get to

The one festival that needs to be on every bookworm’s to-do list.

What’s a Booktown?

Arriving at the Festival

Purchases

The Experience

Surrounds

The Details

8 towns in Victoria’s Heartland that will delight your tastebuds

Top Daylesford restaurants for every foodie’s bucket list

The best Daylesford accommodation for a perfect weekend getaway

A guide to the best Daylesford cafes for brunch and coffee

The Macedon Ranges is Victoria’s best-kept food and wine secret

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

Come for the wine, stay for the food