Ouse

The Tasmanian central highlands have a distinct Scots heritage and when the mists settle in the signature poplar trees there is a definite Brigadoonish feel to Ouse. On the junction of the Ouse and Derwent rivers, the town is the centre for surrounding dairy farmers.

Don't miss quaint St John's Church with its stained-glass windows and washed stone floor. The original large estates established in the late 1820s have long since been broken up, but the large Victorian homestead from where the laird of Lawrenny ruled his fifedom can be seen from the road to Hamilton.

Millbrook water mill off Victoria Valley Road dates back to 1843. The Ouse region also claims close links to the early Australian literary scene through Australia"s first playwright, David Burn, who lived in a local country house named Rotherwood in the 1820s and 1830s. A Burn play, The Bushrangers was performed in Edinburgh in 1829 and, 13 years later, his collection entitled Plays and Fugitive Pieces became the first published in Australia when it rolled off a Hobart press.

It is only a short drive to Hamilton, town of prize-winning gardens and fine old buildings including Glen Clyde House which is now a craft centre.