Fremantle

We had a uneventful flight to Perth this morning, although the celebrity accompaniment was interesting! Geoff Boycott was awaiting a taxi with us at The Intercontinental and had a few words. Paul Hayward, Scyld Berry and Nick Hoult (Telegraph sports writers) joined us at check in and were on the flight together with Jonathan Agnew, Jonathan Lieu, the TMS production team, Matt Smith, Geoff Boycott and several others we half recognised, but couldn't put a name to. You've guessed it, the media contingent were moving on to get set up for Perth. From what we could gather, the main concern was not the state of England's game, but what time they were meeting up later for a drink! We were checked in with time to spare, so settled down in a cafe on the walkway to have a coffee and snack. I'd hardly taken a sip when I glanced up and the whole England team were coming towards me heading to the departure gate for their earlier flight to Perth. I nearly choked on my coffee. They look so young! Yes, I know, they are, but honestly some of them should still be in short trousers. Peter of course had his head in the paper!!
We picked up another car and made our way to Fremantle, our overnight stop. I was not too sure what I thought on arrival, but it has grown on my during the evening. We are staying right in the middle of the town (thank God for the Australian Sat Nav we purchased on arrival) at a boutique hotel called the Hougoumont. It is named after Australia's last convict ship, which arrived in Fremantle with 62 Irish Fenians aboard, 150 years ago this coming January. The town is planning a serious celebration. The rooms are decorated like a ships cabin and everything is in sea faring speak. On arrival it was happy hour and a free glass of wine and local cheeses were on offer. A very generous welcome we thought. Venturing out into the town later for supper, things were lively and fun. We eventually settled on The Monks Craft Beer and Kitchen. Peter started with a 'beer tasting paddle', 120 ml samples of the 6 craft beers brewed on the premises. He was a happy man. The food was pretty good also. A good start to Western Australia!
The next morning found us on our way to Margaret River, some 300 kms south. We had a walk round the centre of Fremantle, which is attractive and built around its port. As we drove south on the Coast Road, we were given a glimpse of a large hinterland, industrial and residential. It is a much larger 'city' than we imagined and rather American in feel with multiple out of town shopping malls which do detract from its centre. Further south still, the new building has to be seen to be believed. I cannot imagine where all the people are coming from. We stopped and had a look round a couple of new towns and the impression was not favourable. Heart and soul are yet to be established. Lovely homes, but it wouldn't be for us. We did in fact begin to wonder why we were bothering to travel this far south and sincerely hoped things would improve. Of course it did! Agriculture came to the fore and the landscape gradually changed, becoming much softer and rural. Traffic was heavy being a Friday and people clearly getting away from the city for the weekend. Vines started to come into play and we finally arrived at the small settlement of Margaret River. Peter found another kitchen brewery and all was well with the world. On the way out of the nearby liquor store we were persuaded to taste some locally distilled gins. Oh boy they were good and we will definitely pay a visit before we leave. This could indeed be a good spot and may well live up to its expectations. I will keep you posted!Read more