I have been out in the Ferguson Valley a bit just lately. Who wouldn't want to take a drive out here this time of year. The hills are so beautiful and green and everything looks fresh enjoying being alive. The cattle are up to their bellies in green grass.
Along the roadside and in the bush blocks we see the colour of the spring wildflowers. So this is a great time for those who love photographing wildflowers to visit the valley.
Crooked Brook Forest, off Crooked Brook Road just south of Dardanup, is a wonderful place to bushwalk in spring. There are several walk trails, one of which is wheel chair friendly. You can find out more information here - Crooked Brook Forest
Below you can see - clockwise from LH top corner - Flame Pea, Kunzia, Wattle and Dampiera
The attraction for many to the Ferguson Valley are the wineries, breweries, restaurants, galleries, B&Bs and cottages with views over the valley.
You can have fine dining, light, casual taste plates or something more hearty. The choice is yours. And an excellent range of local wines and beers to accompany your meal. If you don't want to be bothered with the weekend crowds, quite a few venues are open during the week - scroll down below where I have posted a couple of useful links which will give you a good place to start.
A quirky new addition to the Ferguson Valley is yarn bombing. Curiously these yarn bombed trees pop up over night, and it is a mystery who is busy knitting and wrapping.
I wonder if you will find this one on your tour around the valley - hint...they are on Ironstone Road not far from Lyndendale Gallery.
There are various events around the Valley throughout the year. The next big event is the Bull and Barrel Festival on Saturday 10 October. This is a fabulous day with stalls, local produce, wine and food tasting, art exhibition, buskers, short course running races, the "burning of the bull" and a host of other activities. And it is free to enter. You can read more about it here - Bull & Barrel Festival
The Flamenco dance company I am involved with, Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance, performed at the Festival last year.
Only 17 kilometres from Bunbury to Dardanup where you start the Ferguson trails, it is no wonder that this is a favourite place for locals to go for a lazy Sunday lunch.
Or perhaps you would like to learn a new craft? - Lyndendale Gallery on Crooked Brook Road just south of Dardanup runs workshops along with local artists and its gallery is the place to go for a range of creative local art work for that special gift or something for youself. You can check out what is happening on their FaceBook page - Lyndendale Gallery Workshops
Denise at Lyndendale is a great supporter of the Dardanup Art Trial. Details for the 2016 Art Trail - 30 April to 8 May, have just been posted on the web - Dardanup Art Trail 2016
This is a wonderful time to visit the Valley as many local galleries will open their doors on one or both weekends, showcasing art and craft from artists of the region.
For more information on the Ferguson Valley, please click on their webiste link here - Ferguson Valley
or on their Facebook page - Ferguson Valley FaceBook
or Check out the Geographe WIne Region - The Geographe WIne Region
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Mosaic Monday
Travel Photo Mondays
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens
Image-in-ingWednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Agent Mystery Case
What's It Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
The Weekly Postcard
You might also like -
Bushwalking at Hoffmans Mill
Bunbury Street Art
Lyndendale Gallery in winter
Everything looks absolutely beautiful. I also like the flamenco dancers. They bring such energy and passion to a performance.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots!
ReplyDeleteI love the flamenco dancers - that is SO cool!
Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/08/strange-visitors-in-garden.html
How lush and lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking in with "Through My Lens". Love those sights from the countryside.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Are you one of the Flamenco dancers? How cool. I love Flamenco. Love the rest of the page too.
ReplyDeleteI do "try" to be a Flamenco dancer. But no I am not in this picture. They were rehearsing while I was away for a few weeks, and the show was on the day we flew back in. I only just made it in time to take pictures.
DeleteYou certainly have captured the essence of your area! I'm new to your blog via Mersad's "Through My Lens" and a fellow Aussie from the east coast. I look forward to reading more of your blog and discovering your part of our beautiful country!
ReplyDeleteIt was great to "meet" you today Liz. Thanks for stopping by from "over east"!
DeleteLovely vistas and the delicious looking diversity of foods shared.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to Mosaic Monday Jill.
The green valley is so beautiful! And the wildflowers! Such a gorgeous variety of color. I've never seen the flamepea before, and it just pops! :-) Flamenco...if I took a dance class I would want to take flamenco. My daughter had some brief instruction in it when she was a ballet dancer, and as hard as ballet is, she made the comment that flamenco was HARD, so I decided maybe waltz would be more my speed. :-) I really love Latin dances, though!
ReplyDeleteFlamenco certainly isn't easy - especially at my age - I wish I had started years ago!
DeleteA great collection of photos. Lovely valley scenes and such pretty flowers. I was always smitten with flamenco dance when I was a girl...loved to watch the dancers twirl and swirl.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful day and a great September...
Brenda
Hello Jill, happy Spring to you! I love all your images, the cattle and horses out of the field is a pretty scene. And the wildflowers are gorgeous. I like the yarn trees and the food all looks delicious! Great post, enjoy your week ahead!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so beautiful ... I miss not being able to pop down the road and visit those lovely rolling hills, the wineries and of course The Lyndendale Gallery too.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so beautiful ... I miss not being able to pop down the road and visit those lovely rolling hills, the wineries and of course The Lyndendale Gallery too.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks awesome, Jill - a little bit like South Australia's Barossa Valley in spring, except for the gorgeous WA wildflowers!! Have a lovely day, my friend!
ReplyDeleteah yes, well WA is the state with the greatest variety of wildflowers Red!
DeleteWhat a beautiful lush green valley. Who would think that this was so close to Perth? Your food photos have made me salivate they are so good!
ReplyDeleteJust fantastic, loved the ride and the fields with horses and cattle remind me of right here in KY, so much the same, except, huge sigh we are heading out of Summer and you are heading into Spring. We have had an unusual year weather wise all year and I am soon going to find out how the remainder of the year goes. The flower and the food images all look very much too wonderful and I enjoyed them all. Hugs to you dearest Jill~
ReplyDeleteWe have had a very dry winter actually Mary. The water in the dams is way down on where it should be this time of year. We are hoping for a wet September to see us through summer.
DeleteWhat beautiful photography, Jill! And I have to admit I'm a wee bit envious that you are going into Spring. Our own summer is waning and I feel like it has flown by all too quickly. However, I do love autumn, so I'm looking to what this season has to offer too.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful day... and thank you so much for stopping by my blog the other day.
Brenda
Flamenco dancers always look so beautiful. We watched a performance in Seville, Spain. It was a very soul searching performance and was accompanied by a single guitar and a man clapping. I've only just started hearing about the Ferguson Valley. We did live in Perth and travel the S.W. corner extensively but that was in the early 80's!
ReplyDeleteFlamenco in Southwest Australia----who would have imagined this?! I love your flower photos. I have trouble walking by beautiful flowers without whipping out my cell (mobile) smart phone to photograph them. We have yarn bombing in my home town of Philadelphia in the US (100 miles south of New York) too.
ReplyDeleteThe Ferguson Valley looks so beautiful. I've never visited this area, but now I'm tempted. Love the yarn bombing!
ReplyDeleteW.A has such lovely wildflowers and you have captured them beautifully. I love the yarn bombing - what a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteThe valley photos are so beautiful, simply heavenly!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, Jill, of springtime in Australia, and specifically, Ferguson Valley, with its pretty, pastoral charm! Your spring flower collage made me smile!
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
Poppy