{{futureEnquiries.length}}
We’d heard about McGregor before, but had no idea what to expect. It was simply one of those small towns one knows about which seems to be the same as all the other small towns you’ve driven through on the way to somewhere bigger or smaller or more exotic. We discovered that we were very wrong, McGregor is definitely a town worth visiting! It’s a destination in its own right - not just a dot on the map on the way to somewhere else.
What we discovered was a quiet, sleepy town, the perfect antidote to the rat race of city life. More than that though, and this is what made us fall in love with McGregor, was its quirkiness. From the locals, to the restaurants, and the shops. Walking through town we noticed a few places of business which had some very odd hours of operation. When we asked our hosts about this they informed us that most places are open when they’re open and if so then go in and make yourself comfortable. If they’re not open… well, try again another day.
The Saturday market, which we had read about, was described to us as a ‘flash market’ because it’s open for such a short time. As far as we could make out, it runs for a maximum of an hour from 9am to 10am. After breakfast we made our way down to where the market is held and somehow managed to lose sight of the Church as our directional landmark. Down the road we saw some ladies walking their dogs and horses up the street towards us so we asked them politely for directions.
When they heard where we were wanting to go they told us it was already finished. We looked at the time and exclaimed that it was only 9:30 to which they replied “We don’t have time to sit around all day, we’ve got S#@t to do around here!” We laughed! This interaction and the market itself gave us a delightful snapshot of the community which lives in McGregor. Everybody knows everyone else and the market is simply a place for people to gather, have a cup of coffee and a pancake and catch up on everyone’s week.
In town there are a few mom and pop stores where you can buy basic necessities, my favourite being the one that has goods haphazardly strewn across shelves and even the floor. There are one or two fridges with a few cheese and cooldrink options and a deepfreeze which contains meat and fish. But, the highlight of this shop is the fresh milk. Yes you read right. The milk. There is a huge silver tank in a corner of the shop which houses the milk and you can either bring your own container, or make use of one of their recycled cooldrink or milk containers. Once I got over the idea of drinking milk from a ‘pre-used’ bottle, it was very good and definitely beats chain store bought milk in its freshness and flavor.
There are also a number of coffee shops, restaurants, galleries and shops selling arts and crafts. When you visit McGregor, be sure to book your mealtimes at restaurants a few days in advance. The places available get booked up very quickly! On our first day there we bumped into the same visitors a couple of times as we all went from place to place enquiring about reservations for dinner, sadly to find that everything was already fully booked for that evening.
We booked dinner for our second night at Green Gables Country Inn and wow, we chose well! From the outside, Green Gables fits in with the rest of McGregor with its beautiful old world charm, paired with that sense of quirkiness which delighted us. Inside everything is elegant including a grand piano in the corner which is played by one of the locals during dinner. There is a set menu each night with slight variations; on the night we visited we had pea and mint soup followed by a choice of pork belly or chicken with roast potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin fritters. A delicious, home cooked meal! Dessert was incredible with a choice between chocolate volcano pudding with ice cream or a caramel cheese cake made at the restaurant using their very secret recipe. We chose one of each, but if I had the choice again, I would choose the cheese cake. The chocolate desert was not bad by any means, but the cheese cake was absolutely amazing! We would possibly consider driving all the way to McGregor again just for another piece of that cheesecake. It goes quickly so my suggestion is to order it immediately upon arrival to make sure you aren’t left staring heartbreakingly at someone else’s plate come the end of the evening.
There wasn’t a large selection of drinks so it’s advisable, and encouraged, to take your own choice of wine. The owner is a very friendly lady who drifts around the room chatting to patrons, taking orders and generally seeing that everything is ok. She asked me to fetch my own beer from behind the bar as she admitted to not knowing too much about the drinks and told me to please feel at home and select whatever I needed from the bar. Far from being put out, this just added to the amazing feel of the place. Also adding to the charm of the evening were the different guest who came in for a meal. It seemed like many were locals who ate here frequently - several people stopped to chat to us too which made us feel like we were visiting friends and having supper together.
The company was fun, the food was good, the desert was out of this world and all in all we had an elegant, fun dinner experience at the Green Gables Country Inn.
Waking up the next morning to what sounded like thousands of birds was wonderful. Even for people who aren’t particularly passionate about birds, the bird life was very special. Sitting on the patio eating breakfast and hearing a fish eagle call was a definite highlight.
