Trentham is a small town on the Great Dividing Range, set high and cool among tall forest and potato paddocks between Daylesford and Woodend. Its main street has a handful of heritage buildings, a historic bakery and pub, and a quiet, unhurried charm that makes it a favourite stop for riders and weekenders alike.
The town grew in the gold rush era and later as a timber and farming centre. Just outside it, the Trentham Falls tumble over a basalt ledge into the Coliban River gorge, one of the longest single-drop falls in Victoria. A short walk from the car park brings you to the viewing platform, and after rain the falls are impressive. The surrounding Wombat State Forest stretches for miles, a mix of messmate, peppermint and manna gum, home to koalas, kangaroos and many birds.
The roads around Trentham are a pleasure. The run to Daylesford winds through forest with a mix of tight and open bends, and the routes towards Blackwood and Greendale dip into steep valleys. Surfaces can be rough and patched, with gravel at the edges, and the forest roads often stay damp in winter. At this altitude it can be much colder than Melbourne, and fog is common on autumn mornings.
As a start and finish, Trentham is perfect: quiet, scenic and with enough services for a coffee and a bite. Fuel options are limited in town, so it is worth topping up in Daylesford, Kyneton or Woodend. Take a photo by the falls or in the main street, and you have a memento of a quintessential Victorian highland village.