A couple of weeks ago Matt and I thought how wonderful a messily-planned weekend away would be and began looking at where we could potentially explore.

So after browsing stayz, wotif & last minute enough I could recite hotels by rating, no place seemed to be quite right. Until mantra sneakily sent me their weekend deals for Peppers Criaigieburn!

So off we trekked to a quaint country manor in Bowral early on Saturday morning. Once we arrived we were greeted with a delicious and cozy champagne high tea. As you could imagine my lunch was a heavenly sampler of scones, cakes, sandwiches and prawns! I was extremely impressed by my introduction to a true country high tea.

The Peppers estate was surrounded by a number of picturesque rose gardens, which we walked about and soaked up the crisp country air.

On Saturday we also decided to explore the area by visiting nearby winery, Centennial Winery, tasting a few wines, and picking our favourite to take home.

That night we went to the nearby Gilbratar Country Club for dinner, and the food at Haveys Bar was delicious. It was great to try food different to Wollongong’s usual rotation of seafood.

On Sunday we went into nearby historical town Berrima to explore. We had a cozy brunch and leisurely stroll through all the jam, antique and lolly shops, and yes I am well aware, I am prematurely ageing into a nanna but I don’t care!

Last stop on our sneaky weekend away was a visit to Harper’s Manor. While this manor has historical significance for being the Manor of the area, it is now renowned for its hedge maze made only recently. So we raced around the hedge maze until we were dizzy, and then decided it was time to head home.

So until me next sneaky weekend adventure!