Exploring the beautifully quaint Loch Village
Loch is the wonderfully quaint historic town in Gippsland, 1.5 hours from Melbourne. A popular day trip option, this guide includes what to see, eat and drink, as well as where to stay, in Loch.
Loch Village is one of those thoroughly unexpected surprises you chance across on your travels quite by accident but fall for immediately.
Nestled amongst Gippsland’s green rolling hills just over an hour’s drive from Melbourne lies this endearing little village. Featuring an achingly beautiful main street, lovingly restored to its glory days, magnificent cafes, a brewery and distillery and an award-winning winery, Loch is the perfect day trip from Melbourne.
We first stumbled across this postcard-perfect village on a weekend exploration from Melbourne and were instantly hooked. A small-scale Daylesford championing all that’s good about regional Victoria, a quick stop here ended up in hours of exploring every little nook of the town.
A few hours later, with a couple of gins down and a stomach full of delicious food, we were on our way again, already yearning for our return. And return we have, sampling the towns best food, coffee, wine (lots), and produce.
It’s a town small enough to pass in the blink of an eye, but enjoyable enough to spend a weekend. Enjoy our guide to Loch, a town we hope you enjoy as much as we do.
A PERFECT DAY TRIP TO LOCH VILLAGE
WHERE IS LOCH VILLAGE?
Truth be told, we’d never heard of Loch village before Mark’s mum suggested we visit. As it happens, the beautiful Loch Village is located in Southern Gippsland, about 100 kms/1.5 hours from Melbourne CBD - in other words, the perfect day-trip from Melbourne.
Established in 1876, the town is named in honour of the former Governor of Victoria, Henry Loch. Formally a busy town on the South Gippsland highway, a bypass was built in 2008, leading to a renaissance of the tree-lined town centre you enjoy today.
HOW TO GET TO LOCH?
Fear not, day-trippers, because Loch is super easy to get to from Melbourne.
Take the Monash (M1) from the city, before turning off at the Koo Wee Rup/Pakenham exit (C422). From here, follow the South Gippsland Highway (M420) for about 20 minutes, following it left as it veers towards Wilsons Prom (A440).
After around 15 minutes, you’ll see a turn off for the village of Loch. Turn right, and you’ll arrive at your destination.
STAYING OVERNIGHT IN LOCH
If you know us and our blog, you’ll know we’re big advocates of slow, considered travel, so we recommend staying overnight in Loch and enjoying the village and surrounding countryside over a wonderful weekender.
Loch has a myriad of cute as a button rentals, the best of which we’ve listed below.
CINTA COTTAGE | A wonderful cosy cottage with fireplace and beautiful gardens located in the heart of beautiful Loch. It’s a short walk to the shops, cafes and brewery
LOCH VILLAGE GUEST HOUSE | This cosy guesthouse with a spa is perfect for a calm and soothing getaway in the quaint village of Loch. It’s a 2-minute walk to the Distillery (perfect after a few drinks!), and to the town centre.
WHAT TO SEE & DO IN LOCH
Loch is full of surprises, and a short stroll along the main street offers up a huge amount of opportunities to spend your hard earned.
Long time readers will know of our love for Nepal, so it was a wonderful surprise to stumble across Yakkity Yak, a cute store selling handcrafted products and textiles from Nepal, including cashmere scarves and jumpers. Set up by Rochelle, all products are sourced ethically, and provide work and education opportunities for disadvantaged women in Nepal.
If you’re after a cashmere piece for your winter wardrobe, Yakkity Yak is the place to visit.
Further down the street is Carringtons, a quaint antiques store of your dreams. This cute store is filled with antiques, period furniture, homewares, and lamps. We may or may not have wanted to buy just about everything, including a hipster-style lamp that would make us exceedingly happy.
Across the road is Udder & Hoe, a bitesized grocer-cum-providore championing slow food, slow living. Filled with local produce, zero waste products and good coffee, Udder & Hoe is a pleasant surprise for city-folk searching for good, regional produce.
Situated to the left as you drive into Loch, Peter McEwan Ceramics is a potter who makes some delightfully on-trend ceramics that Mim absolutely dies for. Think stoneware mugs, pastel ceramics and hipster pots. Best of all, you can actually organise a class with Peter in his light-filled studio and learn the techniques to create your own masterpiece (call Peter on +61 400 802 439 to arrange).
Finally, a visit to Loch wouldn’t be complete without a walk to its famous suspension bridge. The tribute to servicemen and women, the bridge is nothing special, but a good place to work off those lunchtime calories.
WHERE TO EAT IN LOCH
For a town so small, Loch is teeming with places to sit and enjoy some of Gippland’s best produce.
Start at Olive at Loch, a homely cafe with serving a delicious array of pies, sausage rolls, country soups, tarts, frittatas, toasties and salads. We recommend the mushroom and thyme tart, which hits all the right flavours. There’s also a selection of sweets (you can’t forget the sweets!), best washed down with coffee from Coffee Supreme, or Chai from the legends at Prana.
Olive also has an indoor/al fresco eating area for those wanting to eat in, with the indoor space in particular, gloriously cosy, complete with stacked bookshelf and inviting ceramics.
Loch Village Foodstore & Cafe is a great alternative for those wanting to sit and enjoy a long lunch or dinner. It’s excellent cafe grub with exceptional local produce; favourites include the beef burger, fish and chips (with homemade tartare sauce ftw), pizzas and all day brekky.
Also, the coffee is Melbourne-quality and the best in town (which is suppppper important!).
Just up the road is Rustic Fork (formerly Amalia’s), a more formal affair with a range of cafe classics. The rustic interior is the perfect place to escape the winter, while enjoying the exceedingly fresh salt and pepper squid and a glass or sav blanc. In summer, sit on the cute terrace and enjoy a classic parma and beer.
WHERE & WHAT TO DRINK IN LOCH
Situated in the 100 year old former town bank, Loch Brewery and Distillery is a hidden gem of regional Victoria.
Set up by local couple Craig Johnson and Melinda Davis, the intention was to follow their passion for whisky, learning their craft in Tasmania before buying this red-brick beauty and setting up their own distillery and brewery. The large open space now houses their stills and and cellar door, with the adjoining former Butchers shop housing the brewery.
Truthfully, we’re not whisky people, but we die for a good G & T, so sampled one of the tasting paddles ($20), accompanied by tonic water and lemon. The gin has a very ‘London’ style, accompanied by Australian botanicals, and is refreshing and citrussy, perfect for a summer afternoon. We personally loved the Weaver, their Australian themed gin which features five locally sourced, stone-ground native botanicals.
The beers are reminiscent of the UK’s ales - proper heavy beer with strong hop flavours. Taste the Pale Ale, Honey IPA, and the Oatmeal Stout.
Best of all, the staff are super friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their products.
In summer, we recommend grabbing some food from Olive or Loch Village Foodstore and sit in the beer garden, downing delicious ales or a cheeky G & T while enjoying delicious food and glorious sun - you won’t regret it.
Oenophiles need not worry, Gippsland Wine Company's cellar door is located just down the road from the town centre. The small, wooden cellar door provides some of the best local views, especially in summer when the hilly outlook flits between shades of yellow, green and blue.
The fertile, rolling plains of Gippsland aren’t renowned for wines, but the long, cool seasons lend to delicious early-ripened varieties, including their award-winning Pinot Noir (our fave… drool!), Chardonnay, Riesling and Cab Sav. Mark, your host, is wonderfully welcoming and the wines are seriously affordable too. So grab a few dozen of Gippsland’s best vinos before heading home.
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THE BEST OF WARBURTON | Our complete guide to the beautiful Warburton, and the East Warburton Redwood Forest
GREAT OCEAN ROAD | The best things to do on the Great Ocean Road, the ultimate guide to visiting Loch Ard Gorge, and our favourite airbnbs along the Great Ocean Road
THE BEST OF THE OTWAYS | Our guide to Hopetoun Falls, and the mystical Otway Californian Redwoods
PHILLIP ISLAND | The best things to do on Phillip Island, and the best Phillip Island airbnbs too
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EXPLORE MORE OF VICTORIA WITH OUR TRAVEL GUIDES
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