Bookings:
(02) 4998 7784. Minimum rates apply
Distance:
150km north of Sydney Getting there: the easiest route from the east is to follow the signs to Cessnock, then take Allandale Road north out of town. Turn left into Broke Road after the airport, and follow it for several kilometres to a T Junction. Turn left into McDonalds Road. Glen Ayr Cottages is in De Beyers Road, second on the right
Facilities: most cottages have ensuites and log fires; all have verandahs and kitchens; linen and towels supplied; all are air conditioned (others have fans)
Dining: self-catering
Features: six self-catering timber and brick cottages; each sleeps six to eight; good base for families or for groups of friends
Activities: wine tasting; fine dining; bushwalking in the Brokenback Range; golf; bird watching
Best time to go: all year around
Children: welcome
Pets: by arrangement
Disabled facilities: limited
Smoking: yes

Contact Gleny Ayr on the numbers below:

Fax 02 4998 7476
Phone 02 4998 7784

'I need a jug of wine and a book of poetry, Half a loaf for a bite to eat, Then you and I, seated in a deserted spot, will have more wealth than a Sultans realm.'
Omar Khayyam

THE VIEW FROM THE VERANDAH of our timber cottage would have stirred the poet in the steeliest of souls.

Shafts of sunlight pierced the forest canopy where garrulous currawongs locked in earnest, shrieking dispute. A goanna high-stepped carefully over the forest floor, tongue flicking lazily in the afternoon heat. Butterflies flitted inquisitively from flower to flower.

Of course, the fact I was viewing this scene through the bottom of a wine glass certainly helped arouse the poetic muse. What better way to end a hard day's wine tasting than by putting your feet up on a sun-soaked verandah and washing down a late ploughman's lunch with one of that day's finer purchases?

Glen Ayr Cottages is a delightful bolthole in the heart of the Hunter Wine Country. Although the Pokolbin vineyards are on your doorstep, the cottages are tucked away in bushland, far from the tour parties and the lunchtime crowds. Amateur bird-watchers will enjoy the ebb and flow of blue wrens, hawks, magpies, butcher birds and parrots among the treetops. A pair of eagles that nest in the nearby Brokenback Range are also occasional visitors.

The verandah is the perfect spot for a crisp chardonnay in the late afternoon, and you will find your log fire invites a hearty cabernet sauvignon or a glass of Hunter port in the cool winter/early autumn evenings. At the other end of the year, the recent installation of air conditioning to three of the six cottages will make the intense summer heat easier to handle.

The cottages are priced to encourage family or group bookings (each sleeps up to eight people), but couples are welcome. An unusual bonus is that the weekend rate includes Sunday night if they can face an early start on Monday, Sydneysiders could enjoy the extra night in the country and still make it in to work.

Lindemans Hunter River Winery is just about within walking distance; others within a couple of kilometres include Tulloch's, Hungerford Hill and Pokolbin Estate. Also nearby is the McGuigan Hunter Village, where they will uncork the wine of your choice and provide plastic glasses so you can enjoy it with a Hunter Valley Cheese Company ploughman's lunch on the lawn. Alternatively, pick up a picnic here and drive up to the lookout at the end of Pokolbin Mountain Road in the Brokenback Range for views over the valley.

Story by Steve Fraser, appeared in the July/August 1999 issue of The Open Road Magazine.