BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN - ROSEVEARS TO CAMPBELL TOWN AND A BRIDGE TO BEHOLD (27 DECEMBER 2017)

With the pangs of regret that invariably come at the end of a wonderful sojourn with good and generous friends, we packed the van ready for travel 

and edged our way cautiously down the challenging slope of the Rosevears driveway,

where, at the bottom, 'Gavin the groundsman' dismounted from his trusty quad bike and kindly opened the gates for us. What a wonderful visit this had been, including a Xmas Day as cheerful as we could have possibly wished for.

We were on our way back to Hobart. I was determined to visit Constitution Dock and beyond to salivate over the horde of yachts which would be snugly tied up alongside after the Sydney-Hobart race (and relive some old glories in my mind!). We were also a bit keen to see if the New Year foodies frolic, 'Taste Tasmania', would live up to the hype.   

In doing so we were moving from one set of friends to another.....the gates of Margate would be open to greet our arrival, but this was not to be immediate. We had decided to spend a couple of days in the Midland Highway town of Campbell Town en route. 

Here, apart from what we had been told was a delightful free camp ground which we should not miss, the town itself offers another significant dollop of Tasmanian history to any who care to dip their spoon.  

Once through Launceston we joined the Midland Highway where the first road sign we passed was encouraging....we were on the right track, but we knew that. We had travelled this route back in October.

Campbell Town sits astride National Highway 1, unlike the the other towns of historical renown to be found through the centre of the island, Ross, Oatlands and Kempton. And, as you can see, today was not going to be a huge challenge for us or the fuel tank.

With the cloud crowned ramparts of the Great Western Tiers in the background, we pressed on through the flat and fertile grazing lands of mid-northern Tasmania. 





'Tiers', like 'rivulet', is a word to be found on every map and chart of the island, and is so 'typically Tassie'....and with its topography there are a few of them!

But today, unlike so many journeys we completed during our stay, there was nary a challenging slope or dip between us and our destination, a rare driving delight.

Past the turn off to the Great Eastern Drive (the road through the Fingal Valley east to Bicheno) we toddled,

on through the gently rolling hills where a few orchards provided patches of green which contrasted starkly with what was by now a countryside where the previously lush pastures had browned off under the summer sun. What a different picture this was to that we had seen on our arrival in October.

After a tad more than an hour on the road we were greeted by an unusually quiet Campbell Town main street 












as we made out way through the town to our campground on the southern extremity of the CBD. 














From our previous passage though this area we knew that we had to make a left hand turn just over the road bridge (an incredible structure about which I'll have more to say shortly) at the end of the 'main street' 












and that is just what we did. The thankfully uncrowded camp ground was right where we had expected to find it













and the sign at the entrance made it quite clear that our planned sojourn of two nights was well within the rules.







We meandered about deciding on what would be 'our patch' for the next two days, and chose to set up in an area near the junction of the camp ground roadways. Here, we hoped, we would be unlikely to be crowded with near neighbours, and that is how things panned out, although as you can see in this shot, as the day wore on the open spaces disappeared rapidly under the influx of new arrivals.


What a delightful resting spot this was. As luck would have it, I chanced across this real estate hoarding (advertising the sale of the old brewery buildings across the road from the park), which has enabled me to bright you an aerial perspective of our new surrounds.

Our camp ground can be seen immediately above the top right corner of the yellow square on this photo, and as you can also see, the local river and its famous bridge are within a stone's throw. Immediately on the town side of the bridge, on the left of the highway you can see the bulk of one of Campbell Town's more impressive and well known buildings, the old coaching inn which is the Foxhunters Return. Obviously the town CBD stretches away towards the top of this panorama.

So what did this all look like from our perspective? In a word....charming.  From the front of our van we could gaze across the foot bridge over the Elizabeth River to the impressive Georgian frontage of the Foxhunters in the background, a facade which is considered to be one of the finest examples of its kind in the country.

And, pausing on the footbridge, this was the view which greeted us as we looked back towards our van across the calm waters of the river with its grassy banks.

But without a doubt the highlight scene was that of the red brick road bridge which was ours for the taking a mere few metres from our doorstep. Now I grant you this late afternoon shot does look a tad grim, but 

what a difference the light of the morning sun made as the three arches cast their shadows 

over the languid waters of the Elizabeth River (which was actually diverted after the bridge was completed). 

Apart from being beautiful to look at, The Red Bridge really has stood the test of time. Built using convict labour between April 1837 and July 1838, this structure remains the oldest surviving brick arch bridge in Australia as well as the oldest bridge anywhere on the National Highway system (yet another one for Tassie!). It still carries over 2 million vehicles per year across this little river. 

Said to have been designed by James Blackburn (a convicted forger transported to Van Diemen's Land for his crimes...and obviously a man of considerably broader talents), the piers are made of cut sandstone, but the remainder, including the arches and parapets, and the upper sections of the long stone walls which stretch up and downstream, are built of red clay bricks.These were dug and fired on site....all 1.25 million of them! They have weathered and aged beautifully and their colour has obviously given the bridge its name. 

Thanks to 'thinktasmania', I have included this shot of the bridge and the Foxhunters Return in the background for a good reason. As you can see, there is very little distance between them, and in 1837-8, this was significant.



Beneath the main structure of this old coaching inn, the wine and ale cellars were initially used to house the many convicts who laboured on The Red Bridge. I'll have a bit more to say about them later during our 'town tour'.

There are at least 100 homes and buildings in Campbell Town which are well over a century or more old, so here there is history on every corner.  

But before you run off screaming towards the liquor cabinet to brace for what is coming, relax dear readers. I've decided to bring Campbell Town to you in a couple of highly edited missives which focus on buildings of real significance, either in themselves or because of the stories they can tell. A couple of these are nothing short of remarkable.