places
things to do
blog
deals
Talk to an expert

Things to Do

Travel Ideas

Events

See all blogs

Popular Destinations

All Towns

Places to Stay

Camping
Heritage Stays
Hobart Hotels
See more...

Popular Destinations

All Towns

Latest Deals

View all deals

Wishlist

As you browse the site, add accommodation, tours, events and attractions to your personalised trip by clicking the heart icon. When you’re done, click the heart icon in the menu at the top of the website to view your wishlist.

Review your list, remove any items you no longer need, then select “View your itinerary” to see your trip on a map, or send it to a friend.

VIEW YOUR ITINERARY
EMAIL THIS WISHLIST
Close

Ultimate Guide to Richmond Village Tasmania

  • Richmond Bridge. Image Credit: @darrenwrightphotos

Discover Richmond Tasmania in the Coal River Valley

The popular Richmond Village has a whole lot of charm, with its quaint Georgian streetscape and iconic sandstone bridge. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find all sorts of interesting stories about the goings-on in this early colonial town. Located a scenic 30-minute drive from Hobart (with plenty of mouth-watering food and wine on the way), it’s the perfect day trip! 

>> Download the Coal River Valley Visitors Guide and Map

Get lost in the fascinating colonial history

Richmond was established in the early 1800s as an important military staging post and convict station between Hobart and Port Arthur.

You can learn more about the fate of convicts and other local characters at the old gaol.

Feel the hairs on your neck stand up as you explore the original gaol buildings, including eerie solitary confinement cells, with special sound effects adding to the atmosphere of isolation and despair.

History buffs, check out St John’s Catholic Church (1836), the oldest remaining Catholic church in the country.

Richmond Gaol
Roslyn 1823
Richmond Gaol. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Richmond Gaol. Image Credit: Tourism Tasmania & Kathryn Leahy
Richmond Gaol. Image Credit: Tourism Tasmania & Kathryn Leahy
Richmond Gaol. Image Credit: Tourism Tasmania & Kathryn Leahy

Picnic by the iconic Richmond Bridge

The grassy banks of the Coal River are the perfect location for a lazy picnic.

Relax on the river’s edge with local produce, and stroll along the riverbank and enjoy watching the ducks (but please remember not to feed them). You may as well take a few snaps of the town’s most photographed landmark, the historic Richmond Bridge.

IMPORTANT: Help our native Ducks thrive by letting them find their own food – Please DO NOT feed the Ducks!

Discover more about our native Duck species on the Clarence City Council website.

Richmond Bridge. Image Credit: @wattlebanks
Richmond Bridge. Image Credit: @wattlebanks

Although the Richmond Bridge looks picture-perfect, spare a thought for the poor convicts who constructed it in the 1820s – the poor saps had to haul sandstone quarried from Butchers Hill using hand carts! Rumour has it the bridge might also be haunted.

In 1832, one George Grover—an employee of the Richmond Gaol whose duties included flogging the prisoners—fell asleep after a few too many drinks and was pushed off the edge of the bridge to his death!

The case remains unsolved to this very day, which seems like the kind of unfinished business that might keep a ghost chained to the very spot of its demise… Just sayin’.

Convict History
Ducks of Clarence

Explore the Georgian town and visit its unique shops

Richmond Village is famous for its elegant Georgian architecture and boasts more than 50 Georgian buildings, some dating back as early as the 1820s.

Many have been beautifully restored and reinvented as restaurants, cafes, tea houses, galleries, craft boutiques, antique shops, and accommodations.

Enjoy wandering the charming streets and meandering in and out of the shops.

Immerse yourself in the unique aromas of Tasmania’s ancient rainforests at The Sensory Tasmania. Rediscover your childhood favourites (and watch the kids’ eyes pop out of their heads) in the old-fashioned lolly shop (at least a giant gobstopper might keep them quiet for a little while?) 

Richmond Lolly Shop
Richmond Wine Wall. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Bridge Street, Richmond. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Bridge Street, Richmond. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Bridge Street, Richmond. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Bridge Street, Richmond. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Peppercorn Gallery. Image Credit: Alastair Bett

Eat and drink your way through the Coal River Valley

There are some beautiful wineries and farms in the area, so stop in and sample the mouthwatering delights of the Coal River Valley!

Visit the restaurant at Frogmore Creek Winery to enjoy a divine meal inspired by fresh local produce and their acclaimed cool climate wines.

Become happily acquainted with Pooley Wines‘ long-living Rieslings and intensely flavoured Pinot Noirs at their Belmont Vineyard cellar door, a grand two-storey 1830s Georgian house.

Frogmore Creek Winery
Pooley Wines
Puddleduck Vineyard. Image Credit: Tourism Australia
Puddleduck Vineyard. Image Credit: Tourism Australia
Puddleduck Vineyard. Image Credit: Tourism Australia

Pop into Coal River Farm’s restaurant for breakfast or lunch, taste your way through the handmade cheeses and chocolates and walk the orchard picking seasonal fruits while taking in incredible views of the Coal River Valley.

Complete and utter bliss! This area is a paradise for lovers of fine food and wine – continue the tasting trail at: Barilla Bay Restaurant, Puddleduck Vineyard, Riversdale Estate, Domaine A / Stoney Vineyard, and Wobbly Boot Vineyard.

Coal River Farm
Puddleduck Vineyard
Sweets and Treats: The Richmond Lolly Shop. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
The Wicked Cheese Company. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
The Wicked Cheese Company. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Coal Valley Vineyard. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Coal Valley Vineyard. Image Credit: Alastair Bett
Coal River Valley Visitors Map
Where to Wine, Dine and Feast
Find Accommodation in the Coal River Valley

SHARE YOUR RICHMOND ADVENTURES WITH US!

Share your snaps by tagging @hobartandbeyond and using #HobartandBeyond on Instagram – we’ll share our favourite pics on social media and in the blog.

Download Southern Tasmania Touring Maps

2024 Autumn Photography Competition

Stay in touch with what’s happening in Hobart & Beyond

Sign up for our mailing list

We acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their enduring custodianship of lutruwita / Tasmania. We honour 40,000 years of uninterrupted care, protection and belonging to these islands, before the invasion and colonisation of European settlement.

As a destination that welcomes visitors to these lands, we acknowledge our responsibility to represent to our visitors, Tasmania’s deep and complex history, fully, respectfully and truthfully.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal people who continue to care for this country today. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present. We honour their stories, songs, art, and culture, and their aspirations for the future of their people and these lands. We respectfully ask that tourism be a part of that future.

sign up for our newsletter
Talk to an Expert

Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre
16-20 Davey St, Hobart TAS 7000

(03) 6238 4222
bookings@hobarttravelcentre.com.au
hobarttravelcentre.com.au

Popular links

Places
Things to Do
What’s On
Blog
Deals
Touring Maps
Newsletter

Visitor information

Visitor Information
Contact Us
Contribute Images

Hobart & Beyond is managed by
Destination Southern Tasmania

Visit our corporate site:
southerntasmania.com.au 
List your business & events

  • Hobart & Beyond 2024

Sign up for our mailing list

Subscribe for updates on what's happening in hobart and beyond