Cessnock

Culture and heritage

Admire Cessnock’s oldest timber-sawn house, built around 1885, that is now home to the Marthaville Arts and Cultural Centre. It regularly hosts events and exhibits, and is the place to pick up locally made crafts. For theatre, music, dance or comedy, head to Performance Arts Culture Cessnock. Check the events calendar for upcoming performances or local festivals, like the annual Cessnock Stomp Festival. 

In Yengo National Park, around an hour from Cessnock, you can see Aboriginal engravings at one of Australia’s finest Aboriginal cultural sites. Join an immersive tour with Wollombi Aboriginal Cultural Experiences to learn more about the area’s ancient Indigenous history and the modern connections to culture. 

Wollombi Aboriginal Cultural Experience, Yengo National Park

Cellar doors and wine tours

While there are no wineries in Cessnock itself, it’s just a short drive to the Hunter Valley wineries, and many wine tours start from here. The closest wineries to town are Briar Ridge, Saddlers Creek, Iron Gate Estate, Hanging Tree and Petersons. Family-run boutique cellar door Ernest Hill Wines is a popular stop, known for its award-winning range of chardonnay, rose and shiraz to name a few.

Briar Ridge Vineyard, Mount View

To meet the makers and sample their favourite wines, join a tour. Try All Around the Vines, Cheers Bus or Hunter Valley Wine Tours. The Hunter Valley Visitor Information Centre in Cessnock is a great place to go for recommendations and bookings. 

Saddler's Creek Wines, Pokolbin

Restaurants, pubs and a brewery

Just outside of town is the one-hat Bistro Molines, a little slice of Provence in the Hunter hills. With its beautiful outdoor terrace, surrounded by vines and overlooking the fields below, this is classic French cuisine and hospitality. Enjoy smoked meats in The Valley Brewhouse's beer garden before taking a tour of their brewery. For classic country pub grub, visit Peden's Hotel or the Abermain Hotel. 

Bistro Molines, Mount View

Family fun 

Hand-feed kangaroos, pat a wombat and marvel at exotic animals like white lions, ring-tailed lemurs and meerkats at the Hunter Valley Wildlife Park. Kids will love the Zookeeper for a Day program that runs during the school holidays or join the giraffes for a private sunrise breakfast on Sundays. Hunter Valley Gardens is just 15 minutes from Cessnock and has 14 hectares of gorgeous gardens to explore as well as program of family-friendly events throughout the year. 

Hunter Valley Gardens, Pokolbin

Pack a picnic and head for Astills picnic area in Werakata National Park, just 10 minutes out of town. Look out for pretty wildflowers and listen for birds like kookaburras, speckled warblers and black-chinned honeyeaters. Nearby, the Deadmans Loop mountain bike track is an 8km loop that winds through spotted gums. 

Hunter Valley Wildlife Park, Nulkaba

Where to stay

Accommodation in Cessnock is plentiful. Travellers on a budget can choose motels, pubs and holiday parks, or live like a local in one of the town’s cosy holiday cottages. For a little bit of luxury, there are grand homesteads and stylish houses with swimming pools, such as Villa Leone Estate and Hunter Valley Lodge and Retreat. For a taste of rural life, check in to Odyssean, a working horse farm with tiny house accommodation.

Villa Leone Estate, Nulkaba - Credit: Villa Leone Estate

Getting there

Cessnock is the gateway to the Hunter Valley. It’s just a two-hours drive north of Sydney and 50 minutes west of Newcastle Airport. Trains also depart from Sydney for Morisset, where there are regular buses to Cessnock.