Hepburn Springs: Why the relaxation haven should be on your holiday wish-list

Visitors have been making their way to the natural springs in the central highlands region of Victoria since the late 1800s, drawn by the therapeutic properties of the water. So are the travellers who continue to come from far and wide to bathe and “take in the waters” onto a good thing?

Paul Lever, a local of four years, is a believer.

“People who have lived here a long time and drunk the water for a long time do look quite young,” he says. “The natural springs really are good from a health and wellbeing perspective.”

Boasting the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, Hepburn Springs is spa country, a haven for rest and relaxation.

So prized are the springs that some have been included on Victoria’s heritage register. The Hepburn Pool, built into Spring Creek and surrounded by terraced dry stone seating, is listed, as is the Edwardian Hepburn Bathhouse and Pavilion.

Top tastes

There are plenty of day spa options to choose from in the village and lots of pumps where you can fill up your bottle with free mineral water. And while the natural springs remain the key drawcard, these days the area, which includes the larger neighbouring town of Daylesford, is almost as well known for its fresh produce, eateries, galleries and gardens.

Topping the high-end restaurant list is the two-hatted Lake House, run by “living legend” Alla Wolf-Tasker who is widely credited with developing the area into a thriving tourist hub.

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An icon in regional dining, the Lake House continues to rake in awards 30 years after it was first established. Tasker also heads up the popular Wombat Hill House Cafe.

If you need proof of the area’s design credentials, artist David Bromley and his wife Yuge not only have a home here, they’ve also opened up a Bromley & Co store stocking homewares, furniture and fashion. And on Hepburn Springs Main Road you’ll find Moongate Antiques with its treasure trove of oriental goods.

Vibrant communities and opportunities

Unique Estates Melbourne agent Dominic Romeo has lived in the nearby Macedon Ranges for 20 years and says Hepburn Springs and Daylesford are two of Australia’s premier regional towns.

“It’s a stunning region in terms of the natural beauty and the towns are so vibrant,” he says. “We’re well positioned close to Melbourne, Ballarat and Castlemaine.”

Romeo is currently selling an iconic homestead in the area for $3.6 million. Dudley House, formerly a boutique hotel and still Victoria’s only member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, comprises a 1908, seven-bedroom country home and a three-bedroom cottage on a separate title, fully furnished and set within established gardens. There’s plenty of potential to put the residence to commercial use. 

While many buyers do come to Hepburn Springs looking for a tourism venture, Romeo says there are also tree-changer buyers seeking a country town that isn’t sleepy.

“A lot of people are moving out of Sydney and Melbourne and looking for a tree change in a town with country atmosphere, but still plenty of activity.”

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