I don’t know about you, but I personally love reading about real places and then going to visit them. There’s something kind of amazing about living vicariously through your favourite character’s adventures, and then going and seeing those places for yourself. (One of my personal faves was reading about London and New York in Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic novels, and then going shopping in London and New York myself and channelling Becky Bloomwood!)
As an author, it’s always exciting to set parts of your story in real locations, and hope that your love for that place shines through in the writing and that you can give your readers an authentic experience of the place … and hopefully a burning desire to visit themselves!
My second novel, Eat Pray Shag, was set predominantly in Bryon Bay, and I wrote about my research trip there and some of the real locations behind the book in this blog post here. I’ve also previously done a post on Manly and the locations in Laura the Explorer here. But for now, I’m going to focus on one of the key settings in Great Sexpectations, which is the Mudgee region.
I personally LOVE Mudgee. I’ve been visiting for years, and now am lucky enough to own (and am currently renovating) a house there. And being named Australia’s Top Tourism Town with Hall of Fame honours in the population greater 5,000 category two years in a row is a pretty big endorsement for Mudgee as well.
So, here are some of my top tips for visiting Mudgee, along with some of the scene tie-ins!
Autumn in Mudgee
Autumn is such a perfect time to visit Mudgee, because there are so many deciduous trees planted all through town, and watching everything change colours is truly magical. Not that there’s ever a bad time to visit Mudgee, but Autumn and Spring both put on a fantastic show. Great Sexpectations is set during autumn, and here are some of the gorgeous inspo photos I took this year when I was there.
Wineries in Mudgee
The Mudgee wine region is one of the best wine regions in Australia (in my opinion!). Not only are there so many fantastic wineries, but they are all located so close to town and if you book a full day wine tasting tour with one of the many wine tour operators, you’ll be in for a fantastic day. Though Middlebrook Vineyard (the winery Lucas's aunt owns in Great Sexpectations) is a fictional winery, most of the wineries in Mudgee are family run, so you’ll often be chatting with the owners at the cellar door when you go in for a tasting (at least in some of the smaller places). There was no one particular winery that I based Middlebrook on, but for some fantastic reds, a family feel and a tasting patio just begging for a good sunset, try Yeates Wines or Skimstone; or if you want to head to the ‘area’ where I imagine Middlebrook would really be, go for a tasting at Burnbrae Wines and get one of their cheese platters too (one of the best charcuterie boards in Mudgee!)
The town and the Pubs
Although Laura does little more than drive through town and visit the hardware store in Great Sexpectations, Lucas hints at wanting to show her around (and, alas, what a day they could have had!). One thing I love about Mudgee is how many pubs there are in town – if you’re a pub crawl kind of person, then this is a perfect town for just that! There’s at least 10 different pubs in Mudgee, ranging from the fancy breweries down to the locals haunts, and they are all so full of character. And if you’re wondering what the ‘cool new pub’ is that the characters talk about, it’s Three Tails Brewery, a brew-pub with a fantastic ever-changing craft beer lineup and an enormous smoker called The Governor which does American-style smoked meats (worth getting one of the tasting trays!)
The cafes
Mudgee is also spoilt for choice when it comes to cafes and getting your coffee fix. My personal faves are Coco Mudgee, a chocolate and gift shop that also makes coffee and hot chocolates (meaning you can browse their gorgeous wares while you wait for your takeaway!); Alby and Esther’s, which has a gorgeous courtyard and is fantastic for brunch (definitely book ahead); and Indigiearth Café, which makes the most amazing cakes and food all using native Australian ingredients. And another fave (which is the café Lucas sends Holly to in the book) is Althea by Zin, a bakery café which does great coffee and the most amazing pastries (I might have a slight addiction to their quiches!)
And that's it for my recommendations! I'll leave you with this final photo - though I can't remember which winery this actually is, it's basically the view I imagine you'd find at Middlebrook Vineyard (though this photo was taken in winter with bare grapevines!) :)
