Travel between Ballarat and Melbourne is best enjoyed by train. Platform one at the Ballarat Railway Station hosts a no-frills bar and tea house, where you can gamble on a horse race while enjoying a scone before the platform fills up. Within the station precinct, the historic Goods Shed has recently been refurbished and hosts a Gin Distillery, a dumpling house, and Australian Italian eatery, Nolans. These are modern long lunch destinations to bookend a comfortable journey by train.

Wendouree or Ararat trains depart regularly from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. Expect a travel time of approximately 1.5 hours.

Our workshop is a 10-minute drive from the Ballarat Station, or a 25-minute Bus ride on the route 24 Ballarat Station – Sebastopol service, stopping at Elizabeth St/Sutton St.

Taxis and Ubers are available from the Ballarat Station.

Bikes can be transported by train, with storage racks available in each carriage.

Alternatively drive west along the M1 or M2 freeways to connect to the M80 heading to Ballarat. Plugging 'Wootten Ballarat' into your Google Maps is also a simple method.

If arriving via the sky, you can take the Sky Bus from Tullamarine Airport to Southern Cross, followed by a regional train to Ballarat Station. Or you can bypass Melbourne and travel direct from Tullamarine to Ballarat Station. There are several direct travel options available:

1. Ballarat Airport Shuttle: https://airportshuttlebus.com.au/
2. Uber Carshare car hire.
3. Traditional car hire companies, located in the Airport Terminal.

The road between Geelong and Ballarat took shape following the settlement of Port Phillip, with the advance of wool graziers like the Learmonth Brothers. Mount Buninyong, on the outskirts of what is now Ballarat, was documented in early surveys of the district, prior to the establishment of the two townships. The road that was mapped out between Geelong and Mount Buninyong was based on walking tracks that were used by the Waddawurrung people - to travel between significant sites, as well as for travel between clans and tribes.

Not far out of Ballarat, partway to Geelong on the midland highway, is the township of Lal Lal. At Lal Lal you can visit the falls, the resting place of the wedge tailed eagle Bunjil, who in the Waddawurrung telling created the people and animals and carved the landscape with his wings. You can also visit the Lal Lal Falls Hotel, where Peter Laylor was stowed for the night, red coats in pursuit, after fleeing the stockade at Eureka for the port of Geelong.

Public transport options between Ballarat and Geelong include a direct bus service, departing regularly on weekdays and twice daily on weekends. This journey takes approximately 1.5 hours.

Our workshop is a 10-minute drive from the Ballarat Station, or a 25-minute Bus ride on the route 24 Ballarat Station – Sebastopol service, stopping at Elizabeth St/Sutton St.

Taxis and Ubers are available from the Ballarat Station.

Bikes can be transported by train, with storage racks available in each carriage.

The 90km route takes 1hr 15min by car.

Daylesford is just 45 minutes’ drive from Ballarat, and a good 2-3 degrees warmer in winter. That bit closer to the dividing range, the sun comes out around the township of Dean, home of the humble spud. We don’t need to sell you on Daylesford, but some hidden gems on the drive there include:

• The Potato Man roadside potato stall 3kg for $5, keep your eyes “peeled” at Newlyn.
• Deep Creek Mineral Spring and Streamside Reserve
• Captains Creek Winery and Cellar Door Public transport options between Ballarat and Daylesford include a bus to the township of Creswick, followed by a connecting bus through to Daylesford. This journey takes approximately 1.5 hr. The 45km route takes 45 minutes by car.

If you plan on coming by plane, check out the Melbourne Airport option above. If driving, plug Wootten Ballarat into your Google Maps by take the nice cruisy 7-hour route from Adelaide through the M1, A1 and mainly A8 to get to the M8 to Ballarat.

You may wish to plan an itinerary on where to explore when you arrive. The Ballarat In The Know website: Home - Ballarat In The Know is a great starting point to explore various businesses in the region: https://ballaratintheknow.com.au/

Ballarat is also home to a large community of citizen historians, with a great collection of self-guided tours and interactive maps available online. Here are some good links to get started:

1. An interactive map that brings buildings and significant locations to life: https://ballaratrevealed.com/locations.php

2. Tales From Rat City dig up unlikely histories in audio format: https://talesfromratcity.com/

3. Hidden Histories is another fantastic interactive map that can be navigated for a view of the Wadawurrung people’s interactions with Gold Rush Era Ballarat. https://sovereignhillhiddenhistories.com.au//

4. This 3D map of Ballarat’s terrain gives a different perspective of the little settlement on the Yarowee https://www.hulballarat.org.au/terrain_lores.php. The following quick read tells a bit more of the story: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/how-gold-changed-ballarat#:~:text=A%20special%20joint%20project%20between,river%20runs%20through%20Ballarat%20today.