Club Lunch at the Bowning Hotel

23 June 2014 / Malcolm Bernhardt

It was a wet and chilly (Saturday) night…….

So it was 29 hardy souls who rocked up at Hall layby on Sunday morning. This was the start of a 150k round run to Bowning via Yass and Binalong but the weather was cold and the roads were wet and slippery.

Hot coffee/tea was a priority, and we all gladly pulled in to the Yass Kaffeine coffee shop. 

Well, we might have stayed there all day.  But by the time the second coffee/tea and scones had disappeared, so had the winter clouds. The sun was out, the wind died down and one’s whole perspective on life immediately improved.

So, after paying due homage to the venue’s single external toilet, we mounted up, put down the tops in the warm sunshine and headed NW towards the village of Binalong.

The area between Binalong and Boorowa has benefited from recent autumn rains and the rolling countryside is now a brilliant green.  The Hughstonia road out of Binalong winds it’s way lazily N towards Boorawa and if one can strike pleasant weather this time of the year, it makes for enjoyable weekend driving.

Turning south, the Lachlan Valley Way takes you back towards the Hume Highway and apart from a goods van which crested the hilltops at only 60-70kph, our run was unhindered.  The Walls Junction road can be accessed just before you reach  the Hume and while it’s not the greatest of road surfaces, it’s only 4k to the town of Bowning.

The Bowning Hotel had upgraded its dining room some time back and it’s a pleasant venue to dine in.  The menu is pub food, naturally, but it’s good quality and plentiful.

The writer could think of a lot worse ways to spend a Sunday morning.