The Heritage Towns Loop
Slate villages, copper ruins and colonial streetscapes in a single unforgettable day.
Wine made the Clare Valley famous, but copper and slate built it. This loop threads together the region's extraordinary colonial heritage - from the Cornish mining town of Burra to the slate-built village of Mintaro - for travellers who want the story behind the scenery.
The plan
Begin at Mintaro, wandering the slate streetscape that has barely changed in 150 years, then tour the grand Martindale Hall, the 1880s Georgian mansion that stood in for 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'. From here, drive east to Burra, the Cornish copper town that once helped save the colony from bankruptcy.
In Burra, pick up the Burra Heritage Passport key and let it unlock the town's secrets: the vast open cut of the Burra Monster Mine, the stark cells of Redruth Gaol, the time-capsule Market Square Museum and the poignant miners' dugouts carved into the creek bank.
Return west via Sevenhill, where St Aloysius Church and its crypt tell the story of the Jesuit priests who founded the valley and planted its first vines - a fitting place to end a day among the ghosts of colonial South Australia.
Day 1
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On the map
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Image credits
- Mintaro 1880 cropped.jpeg by Unknown. Possibly Samuel W. Sweet , Public domain via Wikimedia Commons