Host: Janice Hart
Phone: 02 45 751 421 or m 0408 751 422
Tour: Saturday - 7pm-9.30pm Weekdays for groups of 20 Reservations essential.

It’s a warm March evening. Clouds float past the full moon obscuring its bright glow momentarily. Walking quietly with your fellow travellers, your lanterns light the way along a dark footpath. Janice Hart, a long standing member of the Hawkesbury Historical Society and friend to the ghosts of days long past, guides your journey around Thompson Square’s heritage buildings, old bridges, graveyards and other sites of historic Windsor.

In 1850, five-year-old Amanda died in the doctor’s surgery. If you listen carefully, you can hear her crying softly for her parents. Then there’s Catherine, a cook to Constable John Howe’s family, who still rants loudly about her kitchen floor, now replaced with timber instead of the much-loved sandstone. Wicked wives and mysteriously disappearing husbands, convicts hanged without a trial and children murdered in their sleep, Janice knows all their stories.

The nightlife of historic Windsor Mall – restaurants filled to overflowing, giggling children with ice-cream cones and elegant travelling restaurants led by the Clydesdales – does not deter these pioneer apparitions that Janice calls forth. Perhaps you’ll feel their soft whisper on the back of your neck.

But you need not fear. Janice calms the tortured souls and makes certain you return safely to the Macquarie Arms for a light supper and refreshments. Here you can party with friends, present and past, until the pub closes.

A love of adventure and history, comfortable shoes, a bottle of water and a torch, in the event the moon fails to light the night, are the only necessities. Bookings are essential.

Address: 8 Baker Street
Phone: 02 4560 4444
Hours: 10am-4pm Wednesday to Friday, 10am-3pm Saturday and Sunday, Closed Monday and Tuesday to general public but available to pre booked groups.

The Museum Building officially opened in early 2008 with a temporary display about the construction of the museum. The official opening of the Museum’s exhibition is planned for Sunday, May 18, 2008 when the new building and the heritage building known as Howe’s House at 7 Thompson Square will together form a unique cultural facility. As well as its permanent exhibition, the museum will offer a changing program of temporary and travelling exhibitions. 

Address: On George Street, Between Fitzgerald and Baker Streets
Phone: 4572 7348
Hours: Sundays 9am-4pm

Crafts, music, local produce and the paddlewheel are the staples of the Windsor Markets each Sunday. Sunday is a special day, somewhat like a street party with tall umbrellas and crafts carts lining George Street for two long blocks.

It’s a constant parade of people – shoppers and strollers. Hawkesbury farmers are on hand with corn, strawberries, pumpkin and zucchini. Jams, jellies and honey get a fair display as well. Flavours of ethnic foods fill the air, a didgeridoo performer entrances us and often a charming face painting artist has long queues. The Mall shops, cafés and restaurants are always open – it’s a big country market fair.

Address: 61 Richmond Road, Windsor NSW
Phone: 02 4577 1254

Villa Thalgo Day Spa should be at the top of every woman’s (or man’s) list for a special day off. This is an “over the top” spa – one of the major spas in NSW.  So, let’s talk about the setting. Stunning! Luxurious! Calming!

Let’s talk about indulgence and health. You can choose from an extensive array of therapies: whole body wraps, hot stone therapy, hydrotherapy and massage. A hydrotherapy treatment will bring a natural blush to your skin, even in winter, and on a chilly day, the indoor pool is perfect for a bit of a workout.  For pure indulgence choose a treatment of soothing emulsions and essential oils. With thick white towels and dressing gowns – you live the life of the rich and famous, if only for a day! Of course, beauty treatments and facials are available and, for your convenience, Villa Thalgo Hawkesbury offers half- and full-day splurges.

Address: Wilberforce Road, Wilberforce
Phone: 02 4575 1955 or 4575 1265

Butterflies’ antennae are a) feathery, or b) have little knobs on the end? True or false: male butterflies are usually smaller and prettier than the females?

After a visit to the natural history and insect museum just up the road from Windsor in Wilberforce, you’ll have the answers to these and other butterfly trivia. The extensive collection of moths, butterflies and insects is the creation of the late Russell Hodgskin who, in his heyday, was often spotted in pith helmet and armed with a butterfly net.  Hodgskin, an unconventional and beloved local, gathered from across the world tropical specimens with iridescent greens and blues that are incredibly beautiful. We are surprised by the similarity in shape and form of species from across different continents. However, if your primary interest is Australian species, you won’t be disappointed.

Bugs that would set you screaming if they showed up in your sleeping bag are on display in this exceptional collection. Cicadas look like ballerinas clad in pink tutus. Stick insects will make you laugh. Plan an hour or two to take it all in, and save time to shop for butterfly paraphernalia.

Today, the museum, set in the Butterfly Farm and Ski Gardens, is managed by Hodgskin’s sons and daughter-in-law, who share their father’s passion for the region. The rustic indoor-outdoor pavilion along the Hawkesbury River has a capacity for 400, and is often the setting for company picnics, family reunions and church gatherings. A kiosk serving snacks and beverages, large covered picnic areas, a swimming pool, ski gardens and boat ramp are among the recreational amenities offered on the grounds in the Hawkesbury.

Address: 518 Tizzana Road, Ebenezer
Phone: 02 4579 1150
Hours: Sat-Sun and public holidays 12noon-6pm

On the road to Tizzana Winery, a soft November rain falls covering vineyards, waterlily lagoons and surrounding farmlands with a delicate mist. Some 20 minutes from historic Windsor, the country road bends and weaves. Without warning, on the damp hillside above the road, an imposing sandstone structure comes into view; you have been inexplicably transported into the Tuscan region of Italy.

In 1887, the vineyards at Tizzana were planted with imported French and Italian vine cuttings by Italian immigrant Thomas Fiaschi. A physician, Fiaschi had a practice on Thompson Square. The Fiaschi family continued the wine business after Dr Fiaschi’s death in 1927, until 1949. Some years later, the abandoned three-storey building was set on fire by vandals. All that remained was a stone shell. In 1969, restoration was begun by Peter and Carolyn Auld and, today, wine-tasting continues in this beautiful building. On-site group luncheons or dinner functions can be arranged. For a description of the Tizzana 5-star bed and breakfast, refer to the Hawkesbury Accommodation section. This is one setting you won’t want to miss.

Most of our kids assume corn and green beans come from supermarket shelves. Many think milk grows in plastic containers. The world of farms and rural cow pastures is not an experience of the past; it is merely a world forgotten, beyond our day-to-day vision.

With a little effort and imagination, you can broaden a child’s horizons along a meandering country road and a trip to the Hawkesbury FarmGate. It’s a history lesson, too, for the Hawkesbury farmers transported fresh produce along the Hawkesbury River to the sea and down the coast to Sydney in the early colonial days. Include grazing horses, dairy cattle and alpacas, and you’ve added a lesson in animal husbandry.

The Hawkesbury Harvest group has designed a clever schematic of ‘How do I know where to go?’, along with a map marking the FarmGate Trail. So involve your kids in selecting the produce and map out your day-long excursion. Fresh cherries and chestnuts, pears and persimmons, watermelon and walnuts — these are the choices to take home. Of course, freshly made tutti-frutti ice-cream and apple pies will make for an exciting day’s end.