Ashburton

No matter where you find yourself in suburban Melbourne, you will never be far from the closest bowling club or golf club. And the inner south-eastern suburb of Ashburton is certainly no exception. The suburb and its resident bowls club are within walking distance of the Maiden Valley public golf course and there are another dozen or so public and private courses within a 15km radius. Most of those nearby courses lie within the famous Melbourne sand belt.

Major road and rail networks connect Ashburton and neighbouring suburbs directly to the Melbourne CBD, the scenic Dandenongs and the resort towns and wineries of the Mornington Peninsula.

Melbourne, of course, has myriad charms, but the Garden City takes great pride in its acknowledgement as the national fashion centre which has been setting standards in style for more than 100 years.

These days, of course, the two big events are the Woolmark Fashion Festival, which is held in February, and the Spring Fashion Week in September in the midst of the nation"s biggest racing carnival.