Wedderburn

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Wedderburn makes a good stopping off point, especially during business hours. The town has undergone a major Streetscape Improvement Project which has seen the footpaths raised and most shops and facilities made “level entry” accessible. There is a ramp into the local  Foodworks supermarket. Street crossing and curb cuts are all new and there are ample designated disabled parking bays along the main street.

In addition, the visitor information centre is accessible via a ramp and self-opening wide automatic doors. It contains an accessible toilet facility.

The Wedderburn information centre has a Trailrider all-terrain wheelchair for loan periods of up to three days. There is an opportunity to develop a series of outdoor itineraries centred around Trailrider suitable paths in the local area.

Boort Lake Boardwalk

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A new boardwalk and bird observation deck has been constructed over the inlet to the lake.

The wide observation area offers good accessible viewing of the local birdlife and is easily accessible from the parking area immediately adjacent.

The boardwalk is part of the lake’s circle walking path which is step free and level right around the lake. The surface of the rest of the path is fine, hard packed, compacted gravel.

The total length of the trail is 3.7 kilometres.

Simply Tomatoes and Aussie Quilts – Boort

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Simply Tomatoes farm is at Boort in Northern Victoria. Their green tomatoes are handpicked, pickled, then finished in extra virgin olive oil, herbs and garlic. But that’s not all they do. So if you want to know what you get when you combine woolly sheep with green tomatoes? Well jump in the car and visit Simply Tomatoes to find out!

They also manufacture Aussie Wool Quilts, 100% natural wool bedding, and Woolly Warmers – Therapeutic Heat / Cold pads.

he main parking area is located at the end of the long driveway opposite the homestead. The parking area is on a hard packed fine gravel apron.

Entry is through the double gates onto a gently sloping smooth brick paved pathway. The accessible door into the main lounge is to the right at the end of the path. The side door is wide with level entry.

The lounge area is both a lounge and dining area and is where the presentations are given on the history of the farm and green tomatoes product tastings. Tea and coffee are available all day.

A ramp next to the pool leads up to the quilt making demonstration area. The table is low making viewing easy for children and wheelchair users. An accessible toilet is available at the back of the demonstration area.

Spanner man Sculpture Park. Boort

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Displayed in John and Sonia Piccoli’s country garden are over 25 unique life size and larger than life sculptures, including an iconic shearer, a family of deer, a pair of fighting stallions, a mallee bull, intricate garden seats and many more. John makes the sculptures by welding together antique through to modern day spanners. The tallest sculpture, “ The Marlin”, is over 7 m tall, weighs 1200 kgs and is made from 3500 spanners.

On arrival follow the driveway to the back of the house. There is ample level parking on a fine hard packed gravel apron. 

Entry is next to the garage on a concrete and paved path. At the back of the house is a concrete picnic area under cover where coffee is provided.

A concrete path leads to the extensive aviaries.

The sculpture garden is at the front of the house. All of the sculptures are accessible via an open lawn area. The surface of the lawn is smooth and the underlying surface is very hard packed.

All sculptures are accessible and touchable making it a good option for people with visual impairments as a sensory experience.

A fully accessible bathroom is available next to the picnic area at the back of the house.

Skydancers Garden, Gift and Cafe – Butterfly House. Castlemaine

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Welcome to an inspiring garden centre, housing a gift shop, cafe and temperate butterfly enclosure set amongst beautiful seasonal, floral and fragrant gardens. Browse the stunning gift and homewares section displaying exquisite traditional and contemporary jewellery and elegant fashions. Enjoy a coffee or glass of wine in the cafe or tuck in to a delicious breakfast, lunch or sweet afternoon treat, prepared using the best gourmet produce from the region. Find yourself a unique garden accessory, pot or plant and make sure you take a look at the colourful butterflies that are hatching and in flight seasonally from Oct-May.

Skydancers is accessible throughout.

The car park is fine crushed rock. There are 3 designated disabled parking bays immediately to the left of the entry door. 

The entry and all internal pathways are concrete and entry is gained into the café and nursery area through self-opening wide glass doors.

All of the display shelving is low to the ground.

The outdoor nursery has a surface of fine crushed rock. The seeding displays are at 500mm height off the ground.

The butterfly house is accessed through a two-door airlock. The doors are wide and once inside the space is open and easy to move around.

The café has three zones.

The indoor air-conditioned section is accessed from the entry area. There is a section located within the nursery that is located on a deck accessed via a ramp from within the nursery, and finally, an outdoor section accessed from the main café. The surface of the outdoor section is loose gravel.

An accessible toilet is located adjacent to the main sales counter.

Maldon Shire Gardens

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The Maldon Shire Gardens are a peaceful and picturesque public gardens right in the centre of historic gold rush era village of Maldon.

The most accessible part of the gardens is at the rear, where there is a playground, picnic tables and a BBQ. The front section of the park is quite steep and the lawn area is inaccessible due to brick path edging. Best access is from the top of Fountain Street or from Francis Street. The is an accessible toilet available at the picnic shelter adjacent to Francis Street.

BUDA Historic Home and Garden. Castlemaine

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BUDA is a historic house and garden from the gold rush era of Castlemaine.

Parking is available directly outside the fence line and relatively level and constructed of fine crushed rock. Entry to the house is via the small gateway.

In front of the house is a wide veranda. A 75mm step is required to get onto the veranda and a further step of the same height to gain entry into the house hallway. Off the hallway are a series of display rooms. Each room has a wide doorway. The content of the rooms is protected by barriers. The full content of each room is fully visible from the door.

At the end of the hall is a room that is traversed across the main lounge/piano room. There is a full step drop to enter this room.

The tour of the house then follows the sunroom and finally another formal lounge. There is a further 75mm step to negotiate.

The garden is accessed by following the house around. The garden paths are all well compacted fine gravel. The garden slopes away quite steeply immediately behind the house. There is a map available the clearly shows the steep sections of the garden and the paths that contain steps. The upper areas of the garden are easy to navigate right around to the tea room.

An accessible toilet is located within the tearoom. It should be noted that this may not be available if there is a private function in the room. The nearest accessible toilet facilities are at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens at either of the two car parks in Downes Street.

Steps restrict access between the house and nursery at the front. Accessible access can be found by exiting the property through the main gate and re-entering through the double gates.

Castlemaine Botanical Gardens

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Opposite the Mill is the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.

This tranquil space has good access throughout with the paths being level and wide with a hard compacted fine gravel surface.

The fountain has a gently sloping ramped access from the path parallel to Downes Road. 

Seats are located at strategic intervals along all of the paths.

Access to the Tearooms is via a ramped double door entry at the Mill end of the building.

The playground is well laid out with rubberised pathways giving good access to all of the play equipment. At the playground, there is an undercover picnic facility that contains one accessible picnic table. The playground also contains an accessible drinking fountain.

The rotunda in the park is fully ramped.

The grass areas of the park have an underlying hard surface giving easy access to the lake and rotunda.

There is a bridge from Doran Ave over the river that, while step free, has a steep incline ramp into the park.

There are two car parks in Downes road that each has two designated disabled parking bays. Both bays require wheelchair users to enter the traffic flow to access the curb cuts into the park.

At both car park locations, there are good accessible toilet facilities.

Power points for electrical recharge of power wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available at the playground BBQ’s and the rotunda

The Mill – Castlemaine

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Castlemaine’s old woollen mill has been transformed into a food and artisan precinct. The entire precinct has been built on flat land. There are continuous paths of access throughout the site. The paths are either concrete of smooth paved surfaces. All buildings have wide door access. All ramps in the precinct are gently sloping.

Of particular note is the counter in the Brewery with a recessed front along its entire length making it suitable for wheelchair users.

The  Vintage Bazaar and Platform No. 5 have very generous access corridors and uncluttered stalls allow easy access to wheelchair users, people using mobility aids, and people with a visual impairment.

There are four toilet locations throughout the precinct each of which contains an accessible unisex cubicle. Accessible parking bays are also provided at each of the main car parks giving direct access to their respective entry doors.

Victorian Goldfields Railway

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Victorian Goldfields Railway is an authentic volunteer run steam railway linking historic gold mining towns of Castlemaine and Maldon in Central Victoria.

The station at Maldon has designated disabled parking adjacent to the station building. Level access is via the station gates to the left of the station building. The railway operates an accessible carriage that is capable of taking up to 12 wheelchairs on all trips. Like all rolling stock, the carriage is subject to periodic maintenance for advance booking is advisable. The carriage is equipped with ramps to allow access at Maldon and Castlemaine. Access to the station at Castlemaine is more difficult than Maldon. The train operates from platform 3 in Castlemaine. The access from the car park is via a long ramp at the end of platform one across the tracks and back up onto platform three. The gradients are 1:20  and the distance of approximately 300 metres.

There are good accessible toilets available at both Maldon and Castlemaine on the platforms. The are no toilets on the train and the journey time between Maldon and Castlemaine is approximately 45 minutes. A return journey is best undertaken from Maldon. It should be noted that there is no accessible transport available at Maldon Station to transfers passengers into the Maldon Township.

In addition to the accessible carriage, the train also has a carriage with individual booths. These booths would be ideal for people on the autism spectrum or families with members with autism.