Blue Mountains Touring Guide - Blue Mountains, Australia

	Mount Victoria 126km from Sydney On his map of 1834, Surveyor General Thomas Mitchell marked this area as ‘One Tree Hill’. With the arrival of the railway in 1868, the name Mount Victoria was adopted in honour of the young Princess Victoria. The whole village is a heritage delight with many buildings being more than 125 years old. Buildings of particular note are the old Post office; the railway Gatekeepers Cottage; and immediately over the bridge, the Toll House - one of the few to survive. The historic Mount Victoria Toll House The toll keeper - with his bow windows designed specially to cover the road in both directions - collected tolls from travellers between 1849 and 1876 (now they get you on the M4 instead). The village is packed with wonderfully restored and delightful historic accommodation houses - each with many a fascinating tale to tell. Station Street takes you past the 1872 sandstone Railway Station (a former terminus) which now houses a museum. The road then leads to the Darling Causeway which separates the end of the Grose Valley from the start of Hartley Vale. The causeway links up with the Bells Line of Road between Richmond and Lithgow. If you return to the G.W. Highway and head west, you will soon reach the top of Mt Victoria Pass. Turn right here to Mount York which - as it was when Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson saw it - is a sheer delight. It’s also a sheer drop to the floor of the Hartley Valle (or Vale of Clwydd). Mt York is the meeting point of all the historic pioneer roads across the Mountains. Here, the explorers and the roads plummet down the northern face of Mt York to emerge and converge at Hartley Vale. Before (and if) you venture down, take time to study the monuments to the pioneers. Please select to see what's close by view accommodation view restaurants & dining view other business	BLUE MOUNTAINS TOURING GUIDE Blue Mountains Grand Circular Drive Click on village names to see full details All material contained in this touring guide is copyright of Jayarnda Pty Ltd and may not be reproduced for any commercial purpose whatsoever without permission. Ph 02 6355 6292 Evidence of the first roads can still be seen, as can convict chisel marks on a huge boulder which was chipped away to allow Governor Macquarie’s coach to pass through a narrow rock formation. More great sections of Coxs original road are here too, though it’s hard to believe anyone - let alone a carriage - ever made the journey up or down these slopes! Before leaving Mt York, cast your eyes towards the horizon and westwards. You will see the sun glint on special markers which have been placed on the slopes of Mt Blaxland, which was where the explorers ended their journey. On your way back to the highway, on your right is a well marked walking track called Berghofers Pass - the roadway down the western slopes from 1912 to 1920. It’s one of the most enjoyable little walks you could do. En route you will get the best possible view of the convict-hewn and built sandstone rampart of the present day Mount Victoria Pass; and a water trough hacked out of sandstone catching crystal waters tumbling down the rockface. Beneath it.... a smaller trough for the weary drover’s dog! The Grose Valley from Darling Causeway

	Blue Mountains Grand Circular Drive Penrith/Emu Plains to Lapstone ~ Glenbrook to Blaxland ~ Springwood & Valley Heights ~ Faulconbridge Linden to Woodford ~ Hazelbrook/Lawson/Bullaburra ~ Wentworth Falls ~ Leura ~ Katoomba Medlow Bath ~ Blackheath ~ Megalong Valley ~ Mount Victoria ~ Hartley & Hartley Historic Village Hampton to Jenolan Caves ~ Oberon ~ Lithgow ~ Mount Wilson ~ Bells Line of Road The Hawkesbury Richmond/Windsor ~ Bathurst/Mudgee & Beyond The Blue Mountains