Blackheath is the village people mean when they say they want the Blue Mountains without the coaches. It is smaller than Katoomba, less manicured than Leura, and it has quietly become the place you go in the mountains to eat properly.
It is also the gateway to the Grose Valley, which is the wildest and most dramatic country within easy reach of Sydney. Two days is enough to do both well.
Saturday morning: the main street
Start slowly. The strip along Govetts Leap Road and the Great Western Highway holds most of what you need within a few hundred metres: coffee, bread, secondhand books and a handful of antique dealers that are genuinely worth an hour.
- Coffee first: the cafés open early and fill up by nine on a Saturday.
- The bookshops: Blackheath has an unusual concentration of them for a village this size.
- Provisions: pick up something for dinner before you head out walking, because you will not want to drive again.
Into the Grose Valley
The escarpment is a five-minute drive from the village and the lookouts here are, to our eye, better than the more famous ones further south.
- Govetts Leap: the classic view, with Bridal Veil Falls dropping into the valley on your left.
- Pulpit Rock: a short walk to a three-tiered lookout that puts you out into the middle of the valley.
- Grand Canyon Track: around three hours, steep in sections, and one of the finest short walks in the country. Wear proper shoes.
- Evans Lookout: the easiest of the four and a good sunset option if you are tired.
Where to eat
This is the part that surprises first-time visitors. Blackheath punches well above its population for dinner, and the good rooms are small. Book before you arrive. For a Saturday, book weeks before you arrive.
If you would rather stay in, most of our Blackheath homes have kitchens worth cooking in, and we are happy to arrange a private chef for a night if you would prefer someone else did the work.
Sunday: gardens and going home
Blackheath’s cool-climate gardens are the reason a lot of people first come up here, and they reward a slow Sunday morning. Campbell Rhododendron Gardens sits just below the escarpment, and the surrounding streets are full of established plantings that are worth a wander in their own right.
Leave in the early afternoon if you are heading back to Sydney. The highway builds through the late afternoon, and stopping in Leura on the way down is a much better use of the time than sitting in it.
