Have you heard of Ilfracombe in Queensland?
What about the Wellshot Hotel?
Have you heard about a hotel where people place money onto the ceiling?
Well, that’s at the Wellshot Hotel, in Ilfracombe.
And guess what?
I read that Ilfracombe calls itself the hub of the West,
even though it is a very small town.
Pretty good for a tiny town in outback Queensland, don’t you reckon? Perhaps a little tongue in check, but we think this reflects the spirit of the town.
We heard many positive comments about Ilfracombe from other grey nomads travelling Australia. People told us, make sure you stop in Ilfracombe. So, have a guess what? We made sure we stopped. And, as retirees enjoying travel, we were so glad we did.
Where is Ilfracombe?
Ifracombe is a very small town in the Longreach Region, in the Central West of Queensland. It is 27 kilometers from Longreach (between Barcaldine and Longreach) on the Landborough Highway.
What’s to see at Ilfracombe?
Ilfracombe Machinery and Heritage Museum:
In Ilfracombe’s main street there is a large collection of antique agricultural machinery and equipment. It is also known as The Machinery Mile. Each piece of machinery is lined up, one beside the other, all on one side of the main street.. There were so many different types of machinery on display. We saw trucks, cars, graders, ploughes, water pumps, hay cutters, and on and on it went… There was a huge number of antique machinery and equipment on display, all relevant to the pastoral and transport industry. The machinery was all painted up, looking very neat and tidy.
For anyone interested in antique machinery, Ilfracombe is a must. While we have no particular interest in antique machinery, we found the display really interesting and well presented.
This display is free to inspect. How great is that! Ilfracombe is a little town certainly showing the great spirit of the outback.
Along with the antique machinery there was also a heritage museum to inspect. And again, it was free to inspect. For retirees enjoying travel, free tourists attractions are a wonderful bonus.
No wonder the grey nomads love Ilfracombe!
The Wellshot Hotel
The Wellshot Hotel is an iconic, very well known Australian pub. Both Greg and I knew of this pub before we visited. I remember seeing this hotel on TV, and people were shown putting money up onto the ceiling.
The pub is over one hundred years old and has a great outback heritage. This historic pub is full of memorabilia. A very unique feature of this pub is the practice of sticking money up on the ceiling – check out the photo below. There is also a great array of hats on display.
The money placed up on the ceiling of the pub is said to be donated to charity. What a fabulous idea?
The Artesian Spa
Bore water from the Great Artesian Basin continue to be vital to the people of outback Queensland.
The artesian spa is located next to the Ilfracombe swimming pool, and $2.60 will get you entry to both. Again so cheap.
We had heard about the artesian spa, and it was a place we were keen to visit. It is hot out in the central west of Queensland. We visited the area in Late March 2017 and the temperature was 33 degrees when we were in the spa / pool.
The warm spa water, pummeling out of the pipe, provided a massage on our head and back. It was great. Greg stayed in the spa for ages. After a while it was too warm for me, so I got into the swimming pool.
We found Ilfracombe a quiet little town, not what we would call a hub. Even so, Ilfracombe lived up to it’s reputation as a great place to stop.
Obviously the people of Ilfracombe work hard to make the town attractive and interesting to tourists. And let us tell you, people are stopping, and having positive experiences, as we did.
The word on the road from retirees and grey nomads is they love Ilfracombe. Most people we spoke to stopped for a day visit at Ilfracombe. Some people chose to stay at Ilfracombe, and travel into Longreach.
We recommend anyone looking for an outback holiday, and travelling to the Central West of Queensland, put Ilfracombe on your list of places to stop. We believe you will not be disappointed.
Travel safely
Cheers from Estelle & Greg – Retirees Enjoying Travel