Stirling & Aldgate Village Stroll
Antique shops, leafy gardens and great coffee across two of the prettiest villages in the Hills.
The plan
Some of the best Hills days barely involve the car at all. Stirling and Aldgate sit a few minutes apart along the old freeway road, both leafy, walkable and stuffed with the kind of independent shops that have vanished from the suburbs. This is a stroll, not a drive - pick a fine morning and take your time.
Begin in Stirling, browsing the deli, bookshop and homewares along the main street before settling in at the long-running Organic Market & Cafe for breakfast among the greenery. If it's autumn, the village gardens are reason enough to come - wander the streets while the oaks and maples are turning.
Drift across to Aldgate, where the antique and gift shops cluster around the village heart and the Aldgate Pump Hotel does a reliable counter lunch. If your visit lines up with a National Trust open day, keen gardeners can detour to Stangate House, a heritage camellia garden a short walk away; any day, you can stretch the legs on the Aldgate Valley Nature Walk. It's a day for browsing, coffee and not watching the clock.
Day 1
6 stops-
1Stirling
The Stirling Hotel
Optional grand start or finish - the landmark Stirling pub anchors the village.
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2Stirling
Organic Market & Cafe
Breakfast among the greenery at this long-running Stirling institution.
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3Aldgate
Aldgate Village
Browse the antique and gift shops clustered around the village heart.
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4Aldgate
Stangate House and Garden
A heritage camellia garden, lovely in the cooler months - it opens on National Trust open days, so check dates first.
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5Aldgate
Aldgate Pump Hotel
A reliable counter lunch in a leafy, family-friendly village pub.
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6Aldgate
Aldgate Valley Nature Walk
Stretch the legs on an easy creek-side nature walk before heading home.
On the map
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Image credits
- Stirling-Main-Street-2012.jpg by Charlie Ma from Adelaide / SA, Australia , CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons