Midlands Region Tasmania

Yes, you can drive from Launceston to Hobart, via the Midlands, in a couple of hours - but if you do, you will miss so much. There are delightful colonial towns and villages full of English trees, Georgian cottages, church spires and stone bridges. It's not called The Heritage Highway for nothing. As they say, time moves slowly here, why shouldn't you?

Things To Do in the Tasmanian Midlands

· Breadalbane (12km south of Launceston) is home to the Tasmanian Glass Blowers.
· At charming Evandale there are antique and craft shops, stained glass and it's home to the annual Village Fair and the National Penny Farthing Championships. Greg and Gill's Place has an amazing collection of vintage cars, cameras, model cars, planes and trains. The Sunday Markets are Tasmania's biggest.
· Nearby is Clarendon Homestead, a stately National Trust Mansion.
· Perth also has wonderful markets and you can turn off here to visit Longford, the agricultural and historic heart of the region. Woolmers Estate is a time capsule of Australia's colonial history.
· Close by is the colonial farming village of Brickendon where there are lovely gardens and hands-on farming activities.
· Campbell Town (37km south of Launceston) has fine Georgian architecture (particularly The Grange), the Heritage Highway Museum, Bieniek Fine Arts Gallery, Harshals Gallery, Plume Antiques and the convict-built Red Bridge.
· A little further south is Ross, the heart of the world's best superfine wool growing area (visit the Tasmanian Wool Centre). It's a leafy little town with a convict bridge that has incredible carvings.
· Another 35km south and you arrive at another heritage town, Oatlands. A walking tour takes you to a 19th century stone mill, the convict-built gaol and the oldest Supreme Courthouse in Australia.
· Closer to Hobart is historic Kempton and Pontville, which has a convict built church.