Springs, forest and slow afternoons

The reserve has been protected since 1864. Several named springs, among them Soda, Sulphur, Locarno and Wyuna, come up through hand pumps and taps, each with a sign about its water. It's free, the water is cold and lightly sparkling, and every pump tastes different. Locals arrive with crates of bottles.

Worth knowing Bring an empty bottle or two. We leave a glass one in every room for exactly this.

The bathhouse sits inside the springs reserve. Its public bathing pools are filled with mineral water and warmed, and there are private baths and treatments too. It is run independently of us: book directly with them, well ahead on weekends.

Worth knowing Go early on a weekday morning for the quietest pools.

A path circles Lake Daylesford, and from it the Tipperary walking track heads north through Hepburn Regional Park. Lake to Twin Bridges is about 2.6 km; carry on past Tipperary Springs to Bryces Flat and back and it's a loop of about 14 km, roughly four and a half hours.

Worth knowing There's no pedestrian crossing where the track meets the Midland Highway at Twin Bridges: cross with care.

South of Daylesford, a short path leads from the car park down to the falls. Up top there are picnic tables under cover and mineral spring taps to fill your bottle.

Worth knowing Cross the Ballan–Daylesford road with care if you walk in from the trail.

North of Hepburn Springs, the extinct volcano's crater holds a big lawn with picnic tables and wood barbecues. A walking track of about 1.7 km climbs to the rim and a lookout. Dogs on leads are allowed.

Worth knowing Bring your own drinking water; there's none on tap.

Laid out on the hill above town from the 1860s, the gardens cover about ten hectares. Climb the Pioneers Memorial Tower, opened in 1938, for a view across the district on a clear day.

Built in the 1860s as a private house, it later became a convent and a girls' school, and since the late 1980s has been a gallery: several rooms of exhibitions, a chapel, a café and gardens on the slope of Wombat Hill.

Worth knowing It isn't open every day; check their hours before you go.

Started in 1981 to raise money for the railway volunteers, the market fills the station precinct with up to 130 stalls. There's a gold-coin donation at the gate, dogs on leads are welcome, and it runs in all weather except on Christmas Day and days of catastrophic fire danger.

Worth knowing The Daylesford Spa Country Railway runs heritage railmotor trips from the same station; check their timetable.

A farm with old stone buildings from the district's Swiss Italian settlement, lavender that flowers through summer and peaks in January, and a trattoria. Opening days change with the seasons.

Worth knowing Check before you go: it doesn't open every day.

Just outside Trentham, the Coliban River drops about 32 metres in a single fall. A short path leads from the car park to the viewing area. Trentham itself is good for a long lunch.