25 intrepid travellers left Cheltenham football ground a nine am to travel to the Yarra Valley. Fortunately the bus trip was uneventful and we arrived at the beautiful Alowyn Gardens. The gardens take up 7 acres and comprise a nursery, café and you can walk through the gardens at your leisure.
The first stop was, of course the café to refresh for the walk through the gardens. Leading the charge was Ilsa, who always paves the way for the slower members who were too busy looking at the beautiful plants and knick knacks that were available, coffee was secondary at this stage. One of the people who work at the gardens gave us a talk on the layout and the many different areas of the garden to explore. This was offered by the staff member and was very informative.
We were given a time to be back on the bus and off we all went in various directions to explore. Who was the blonde lady who thought she would like to walk through the maze only to realise she was totally on her own having been deserted by her friends. I might mention at this stage that the maze was under 5 ft tall and not very hard to navigate through. But I digress, she finally found her way out to be joined by Pauline, Denise and Ilsa. Many members purchased plants and other treasures.
Our next stop was the Chocolaterie which was a short bus ride for lunch and time to gaze at the mouth watering towers of chocolate goodies. After lunch in the café we all went in search of treats. I noticed a few members getting on the bus with little bags of goodness. Once again we were given a time to be back on the bus, our bus driver was Phil and was very entertaining joining in with a bit of fun telling stories of his other trips, maybe we will be featured in his next story?
I’d like to thank Pauline for organising another wonderful day, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it was wonderful seeing so many different people from many different backgrounds enjoying the trip and each other’s company.
Faye Wegat 29 May 2026
