In this edition of SA Bakery runs we travel to Mt Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills and visit one of the two bakeries that are found there.

 

Where do we start?

This ride starts (and ends) at the The Gully Public House & Garden, or more commonly known as 'The Gully' Hotel on North East Rd at Tea Tree Gully. It's a good meeting point with normally plenty of room to gather in the front car park if riding with a group.

Route overview

In total, the route covers a distance of around 143 km, with around 70% on gravel roads/dirt tracks and the remainder on bitumen. Some sections can get a little slippery when wet and there are a number of gates that must be passed through (remember to leave them as they were found!). The route looks like this:

Let's go!

As we head up North East Rd we pass by the historic Newman's Nursery.

The original nursery was built in 1856 my the Newman's (who by the way, had 17 kids!) a few kilometres up the hill in what is now Anstey Hill Recreation Park. It was ravaged by storms and floods in the early 1900's and subsequently closed several years later but one of the sons started another nursery venture in 1925 at the current location on North East Rd and it has thrived ever since.

We then wind our way up the hill and turn off on Range Rd Sth that runs along the eastern edge of Anstey Hill Recreation Park

There are plenty of nice tracks through there but no motorbikes. Great on an E (Mountain) Bike though!

It's then on to Paracombe Rd, passing by the Highercombe Golf and Country Club 

The next turn heads steeply downhill along Torrens Hill Rd, where it seems giving way to the hills is the go!

As we descend down, the iconic twisty Gorge Rd can be seen running along side the River Torrens.

Once down on Gorge Rd we wind along the river until we reach the outskirts of Cudlee Creek

It's then off on the Cudlee Creek Rd towards Lobethal before we hit the dirt at Langley Rd.

This is a nice run 

With lots of rolling hills and green pastures which will be very much the norm for this entire ride.

Soon the intersection with Ferndale Rd is reached 

and we pass some nice full dams

before heading off along Lihou Rd

After skirting the Porter Scrub Conservation Park the road comes to an intersection by a large storage tank

It's then along Turner Rd following the pipeline

and passing a remnant of the devastating fires that ripped through this area back in 2019

Soon we pop out onto Burfords Hill Rd and duck under the old railway line 

This disused rail corridor now forms part of the Amy Gillett Bikeway which is currently being extended to eventually reach Mt Pleasant. The bridge and multiple culverts have been restored and it's looking good.

After a short stint on the bitumen it's then off down Cyanide Rd

Once past Tuckers Rd intersection there are some slippery sections

but it's a nice track that runs along the fence line

After a quick zig zag we then take Boundary Farm Rd that passes by the Lintern Reserve.

This area is owned by the generational landowner Richard Lintern and is the site of the one time historical Boundary Horse Race. There are still remnants of some of the infrastructure that was used during the race.

Once on Lucas Rd more rolling hills and dams are passed

as we head along Black Heath Rd

It's then down Brinkworth Rd towards Tungkillo

Rather than the direct route to Tungkillo we take a more scenic path and head off down Pebbley Range Rd where the exposed rocky landscape is becoming more prominent through this area.

Soon we meet the junction with Hoads Fire Track and pass through the first of several gates.

This is a great track that heads across the range

and crosses a few minor creeks

before several more gates are passed.

The last section is flat and open

Before it joins Brinkworth Rd again, right near the bridge over Dairy Creek.

After only a few hundred meters it's then off to the right where we pick up Henschke Rd. This road follows adjacent paddocks with a high fence which at one stage were used to farm deer.

After about 2.5 km a gate is passed on the right, which is the start of Camel Hump Rd. 

A word of caution as the next section of this route passes by a rather interesting conglomeration of ramshakle buildings/vehicles/trucks/tyres/drums etc with numerous dogs that will follow you and bark madly. Take it slow and steady. I wasn't game to take any photos but I probably wouldn't stop for a chat considering their recent court case.. 

Once past that John Roland Rd continues on until it hooks up with Brinkworth Rd once more

which takes us over the main road to Mannum past the old Tungkillo Hotel that has now been now converted to a house.

We then start our run towards Mt Pleasant, firstly down Bush Rd

and then along McGillvray Rd, which has few rough spots

It's then not far to the intersection of Angas and Eden Valley Roads 

From there it's just a few hundred meters to our stop at Lovells Bakery Mt Pleasant.

Lovells have 5 other bakeries in SA at Inglewood, Woodside, Murray Bridge, Mannum and Birdwood. The Mt Pleasant Bakery is on the site of the old Totness Roller Flour Mill where the stone buildings have been restored to form part of the shop

As well as an outside seating area with old wooden tables plenty of room.

There is generally quite a good selection of pastries and cakes/buns to choose from.

I chose a standard meat pie (and donut) and here are my scores:

Pastry: 7/10

Filling: Generous and quite good taste 8/10

Temperature: Perfect 10/10

The donut was nice and fresh!

Once you've had some food the town of Mt Pleasant is worth a bit of a look around. Directly opposite the bakery is Wilksch's Garage. A throw back to the old days of country garages, complete with plenty "stuff" stacked inside!

There's also another bakery in town just down the road which has been operating since 1901! Of course I've also been here many times and it also has great food. 

The other spot to check out is Lee's Spot on Motorcycles. This iconic business has been operating here for many decades and provides a very comprehensive workshop (including a dyno), accessories as well as new and second hand bike sales.

With lunch out of the way our route continues out of town and we pick up Lucas back Rd

Soon we come to a junction and take Verralls Rd off to the left (north)

This track doesn't get much traffic and is grassy in places

and can get a bit slippery if it's been a wet winter.

after a bit of weaving around we come out on R Dewells Rd

Before taking a nice little run along Green Rd (which is really just a track)

As we work our way back towards town we pass lots of freshly shorn sheep

and plenty of majestic gums in the paddocks.

It's then across the back of Mt Pleasant and eventually on to Cromer Rd

where we pass the old Cromer Community Hall and run along the edge of Comer Conservation Park

we then pick up the tree lined bitumen of Lucky Hit Rd

taking us past lots of new vineyards

before we reach the intersection with Forreston Rd

it's then over the hills on Norsworthy Rd past the Christmas Tree Farm

then it's onto a bit more gravel along Wattle Rd

and up the shortcut along Carpenter's Track

before passing Inglewood

and finally "The Fox and Firkin" hotel which is just down the road form our starting point at "The Gully"

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the ride!

A download for a gpx file of the route can be found below