Category: Travel Tasmania

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Travelling Tasmania: Lilydale Falls and the Abandoned Tunnel pt 2

In part 1 of the post, we visited Lilydale Falls. We travelled a few kilometres up the road to visit the Abandoned Tunnel.

The tunnel is part of the now unused North Eastern Line which opened in 1889 from Launceston to Scottsdale. According reports and newspaper articles I read looking into the history of the tunnel, work on the tunnel began in 1885 with the last brick being laid in 1888. It is 705 meters long and lined with one million bricks. Construction involved 70 men and no accidents were reported. The surrounding area became known as Tunnel and the nearby station, no longer standing, was Tunnel Station. With the increase in road travel, the line usage slowed from the 1960s and stopped all together in 1992.

image of abandoned train tunnel. Location: Tunnel, Northern Tasmania

Recently there has been discussion to open more parts of the line back up to walkers and cyclists, with a 24km section between Billycock Hill and Scottsdale is already in use since 2015.

Anyway, enough of the history. We wanted to visit after hearing stories about it and numerous photos on different tourist sites. Oh and it’s reportedly haunted.

To get there, from Lilydale Falls, follow Golconda Road for about 4 kms until you reach Tunnel Road. Drive for another 2km until you reach Tunnel Station Road and follow that for about 180m where you will see a small sign saying Tunnel. Park your car on the road side and follow the track towards the tunnel (about 200m).

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The mood was perfect with the rainy weather. I would highly recommend wearing boots if you go in Winter or Spring. It was very wet in the tunnel and the kids and I came out with soaked feet. DSC_0637

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Is it haunted? Well, the kids were making enough noise to wake the dead but we didn’t see or hear anything apart from running water and the crunch of gravel underfoot. There is a sense of something though about halfway along. This is were a lot of people report feeling ‘something’.
Hubby & I plan to go back another day and take another look. Who know maybe we’ll find something?

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This is a great place to go for a walk, take a torch though and a great place to photograph for the architecture, the railway itself, the textures and the flora.

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Where are we off to next? Who knows but I’ll be sharing it here.
Until next time!

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Travelling Tasmania: Lilydale Falls and the Abandoned Tunnel pt 1

We were going to start out Tassie adventures locally in George Town and surrounds as that is where we are based but it was recently school holidays so we decided to visit one of the nearby falls.

I visited Lilydale Falls when I was younger, most likely with relatives visiting from Scotland, but had never been back so seemed like the perfect place to start. And it’s one of the closest falls.

The falls are located in the Lilydale Falls Reserve, about 25 minutes North of Launceston. It’s a relatively easy 6-10 minute walk from the car park along a dirt and duckboard path, then down some stairs to the base of the first falls.

image of a dirt path leading under a train bridge. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania image of wooden stairs. to the right of the image is moss covered rock image of a group of people standing, looking at a waterfall. The waterfall is the bottom fall at Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. 

Image of waterfall and surrounding plants. Bottom falls at Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

Another 3-4 minutes up the path and you are on a viewing platform at the second falls.

image of a dirt path next to a flowing river. Location Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmaniaimage of wooden viewing platform at the top falls, Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.image of waterfall. Top fall, Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

I could seriously spend awhile here taking photos when the weather is dry.

image of manfern growing on rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of tree trunk that looks like a contorted face. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of moss growing on rocks. water is trickling over rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of moss growing on rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of plants and moss trailing over rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.
image of moss growing on trees. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of green moss growing on rocks,covered with dry leaves. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

Back at the car park is a well maintained public toilet, play area and an undercover BBQ area. If there is already a group there, you are most likely going to have to wait for a BBQ though.
The car park has parking spaces for campers and motor homes. There is also an undercover building with tables and a fireplace, which I’m guessing can be used by campers.

The day we went was overcast and then it rained on the way back. The paths and rocks can get a little slippery, so watch your step.
We gave up waiting on the BBQ area as it was completely taken over by a small group of tourists who weren’t keen on sharing with a family so we packed up the car and headed to our next location.

A few kilometres up the road is a place called the Abandoned Tunnel and we’ll cover that in part 2.

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Something new around here

School holidays start for us here in Tasmania next week and we have 2 weeks off school. With COVID, travelling outside our state still really isn’t a thing (even though both hubby & I are both fully vaxed) so we’ve decided that we’re going to play tourist in our own state AND take you guys along for the ride.

We’re making a list of where we want to go and what we want to see so if there is anywhere in Tasmania you’d like to see, let us know and we’ll do our best to add it to our list.

Follow along on our adventures by following the Travel Tasmania category & on my instagram using #nightwolftravelstas