Part of the Pioneer Women's trail
Crafers Hotel
Crafers and Stirling are two small Adelaide Hills towns, whilst close together, they have been separated by the South Eastern Freeway. The two communities were linked and with the construction of the Freeway a pedestrian overpass was constructed so it was still possible for there to be foot traffic between the two towns.
In recent years this pathway has become part of the Pioneer Women's trail. The whole trail is about 22km long and begins at Hahndorf and ends at Beaumont at the foot of the hills. The trail commemorates the pioneer women who brought fresh produce down from the hills to sell at the markets in Adelaide. They would set off from Hahndorf at midnight and walk through the night carrying their produce through the Adelaide Hills. Once down from the hills they would rest and clean up before progressing into the city to sell their produce. On the return trip, each woman would carry two bricks which were used for the building of their church.
My pleasant little stroll was just the 2km from Crafers to Stirling to have lunch and then stroll back again! Crafers is quite a small town and parking is limited, it's possible to do the reverse, park in Stirling, walk to Crafers and have a nice lunch at the Crafers Hotel.
Ramp at Crafers to pedestrian overpass.
My little stroll began at Crafers with me walking to the ramp that leads up to the pedestrian overpass. The route is well sign posted.
Pedestrian overpass.
There was construction happening on the Freeway and the traffic had slowed to a crawl.
SE Freeway
Once over the pedestrian bridge, it was a case of turn left and follow the road down. (Keeping in mind on the way back it was all uphill!)
The road runs parallel to the freeway so there's lots of traffic noise, while the scene is bucolic the sounds are not!
Hydeaway House
As the road ends to turn into a path, there's quite a cute little B&B cottage called Hydeaway House, it's a very pretty location and walking distance to both Stirling and Crafers.
Trail marker, the top is for the Crafers to Stirling path, the blue marker shows it's part of the Pioneer Women's Trail.
More of a path now
Local houses back onto the path.
Entrance into Stirling
Main street in Stirling
Winter in Druid Avenue
Freeway entrance to Stirling
Looking back to the freeway I noticed the TV towers on Mt. Lofty, the highest mount in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, which is why when television was brought to Adelaide the transmission towers were placed on the highest land available. They are a nice point of reference when travelling by car to Adelaide. As in "we're almost there!"
Crafers and Stirling are two small Adelaide Hills towns, whilst close together, they have been separated by the South Eastern Freeway. The two communities were linked and with the construction of the Freeway a pedestrian overpass was constructed so it was still possible for there to be foot traffic between the two towns.
In recent years this pathway has become part of the Pioneer Women's trail. The whole trail is about 22km long and begins at Hahndorf and ends at Beaumont at the foot of the hills. The trail commemorates the pioneer women who brought fresh produce down from the hills to sell at the markets in Adelaide. They would set off from Hahndorf at midnight and walk through the night carrying their produce through the Adelaide Hills. Once down from the hills they would rest and clean up before progressing into the city to sell their produce. On the return trip, each woman would carry two bricks which were used for the building of their church.
My pleasant little stroll was just the 2km from Crafers to Stirling to have lunch and then stroll back again! Crafers is quite a small town and parking is limited, it's possible to do the reverse, park in Stirling, walk to Crafers and have a nice lunch at the Crafers Hotel.
My little stroll began at Crafers with me walking to the ramp that leads up to the pedestrian overpass. The route is well sign posted.
There was construction happening on the Freeway and the traffic had slowed to a crawl.
Once over the pedestrian bridge, it was a case of turn left and follow the road down. (Keeping in mind on the way back it was all uphill!)
The road runs parallel to the freeway so there's lots of traffic noise, while the scene is bucolic the sounds are not!
As the road ends to turn into a path, there's quite a cute little B&B cottage called Hydeaway House, it's a very pretty location and walking distance to both Stirling and Crafers.
Stirling is a popular Adelaide Hills town, it has been right from its settlement. Wealthy Adelaide residents built summer homes in Stirling as a way to escape the heat down on the plain. It's also something of a dormitory suburb to Adelaide, it's a quick trip down the freeway into the city so many residents work in Adelaide but live in Stirling. The town has a large variety of cafes and restaurants so there was plenty of choice as to where to stop and have lunch.
Stirling is very pretty during the autumn months thanks to those early European settlers who planted deciduous European trees, so plenty of autumnal colour.
Looking back to the freeway I noticed the TV towers on Mt. Lofty, the highest mount in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, which is why when television was brought to Adelaide the transmission towers were placed on the highest land available. They are a nice point of reference when travelling by car to Adelaide. As in "we're almost there!"
Stirling's other claim to fame is that as it gets quite cold in winter it does get the occasional snow flurries, so great excitement for South Australians for whom snow is a novelty!
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