After the Ballarat Marathon: Daylesford and Hepburn Springs

The Route: Ballarat → Daylesford → Hepburn Springs → Melbourne Airport Logistics: Hire car, about 45 minutes north-east of Ballarat. Buses connect the towns with fewer services. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night

Ballarat ──(approx. 45 mins by car)──> Daylesford ──(5 mins)──> Hepburn Springs
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        Melbourne Airport (MEL) ◄──(approx. 1 hr 30 mins by car)──────┘

The Ballarat Marathon finishes at the Town Hall in late April. Daylesford and its neighbour Hepburn Springs, 45 minutes away in the hills to the north-east, have been selling mineral water and bathing to tired visitors since the 19th century. After 42 km on Sturt Street and around Lake Wendouree, the offer is well timed.

April in Daylesford is peak autumn. The town was planted with European trees by gold-rush settlers, and by late April the oaks, elms and maples along the streets and around the lake are turning red and gold. It is one of the most popular times to visit, so book the night as soon as the race is booked. Nights are cold, sometimes close to freezing; days are mild.

Driving is simplest: north-east from Ballarat through Creswick, about 45 minutes. V/Line coaches connect Ballarat and Daylesford on some days; check times at vline.com.au before relying on them. For the airport the next day, a car makes more sense.

Night One: Daylesford and Hepburn Springs

The towns sit on the Great Dividing Range, where rainwater filters through ancient rock and emerges as mineral springs. Swiss-Italian settlers in the 1850s recognised them from home, and the area now has more mineral springs than anywhere else in Australia. Visitors fill bottles at the public pumps for free.

The recovery walk is Lake Daylesford, a small lake on the edge of town, with a level path around the shore under the autumn trees. At a slow pace the loop takes 30 to 40 minutes, with benches and a café at the water.

The main event is the water. The Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, in the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve, has been on the site in one form or another since 1895. Its public bathhouse has warm mineral-water pools, and the spa offers private baths and treatments. Book ahead in autumn, especially at weekends, and check prices. Everything is level and indoors.

The Mineral Springs Reserve around the bathhouse has short, gentle paths to the springs themselves. The Convent Gallery, on Wombat Hill above Daylesford, is a former convent turned into galleries and a café; the hill is steep, so drive up.

Where to stay: Lake House, on the shore of Lake Daylesford, has been one of regional Victoria's best-known restaurants with rooms for decades, and its rooms look over the water. Peppers Mineral Springs Hepburn, in Hepburn Springs, is a short walk from the bathhouse, which suits a slow evening.

Where to eat: The restaurant at Lake House serves long, seasonal menus built on local produce; book well ahead. For something simpler, the cafés on Daylesford's Vincent Street serve breakfast and lunch every day.

Getting to Melbourne Airport

Melbourne Airport (MEL) is about 1 hour 30 minutes from Daylesford by car, via the Calder Freeway, without going into central Melbourne. Allow extra time on a weekday afternoon as the freeway approaches the city.