The theatre the cafe and the pub

07 September 2026 / Words and pictures Chris and Barbara Wyatt

A theatre, a café and a pub.

Rob and Deb’s run to The Archibald pub has been a regular event for some time. Starting at Glenbrook Theatre, along the highway to morning tea in Lithgow and down to The Archibald in Kurrajong for Lunch. Always well attended and enjoyed by all.

This year however we had to make some changes. The western highway along Victoria Pass (always a great MX-5 drive) has been closed for maintenance for a lengthy period. The usual light traffic from Mount Victoria along the Darling Causeway, now feels more like Parramatta Road at peak hour.

With Lithgow now a lengthy detour we needed a closer café for morning break. After some research by our trusty couple, a café was found near Monkey Creek in Dargan. A varied history of multiple uses including a demonstration home, a café and art gallery it has recently been reopened as the Blue Monkey Mountains Café. Gorgeous views, good coffee and great cakes followed by some musical entertainment from the host, made this a great stopping point for the run.

Snaking back down on the Bell’s Line it seems the western highway detour has created heavily reduced speed limits and constant repair work, now a fact of life. Early spring weather is always fun, with all the tops down and hats-a-plenty, the twelve cars made a festive eye-catching feature along the winding road. Pulling into the Archibald the party soon started with large servings of great pub food and small servings of matching drinks. Hours later we parted company to return home and look forward to coming events.