Linga Longa Inn Gundy

17 December 2024 / Story Barry Luttrell, Photos Denise Birrell

Sixteen members and seventeen MX5s assembled at the Hunter valley Visitors Centre for a run through the Hunter Valley vineyards, past the horse studs of Jerry’s Plains and into the foot hills of Barrington Ranges to an historic pub in a village called Gundy.

The weather forecast was for a 35 degree day then afternoon thunderstorms and possible hail.

We all took the opportunity of a relatively cool morning to put the roof down and enjoy a convey run through Pokolbin out to Broke and then onto the Golden Hwy.  At Jerry’s Plains we took the twisty backroads through scenic rural areas past dairy farms and on to BYO morning tea and comfort stop at Denman Memorial Park.

After a sociable morning tea, we then progressed to Aberdeen via another of John and Chris’s backroads called Mangoola Rd. This road included some interesting little causeways just to ensure our drivers were paying attention. We passed massive open cut coal mines and more horse studs.  The temperature was starting to climb into the low 30s On arrival at Aberdeen we joined the New England Hwy, but only for a few Kms because John and Chris had another backroad called Segenhoe Rd to take us to Gundy. Again we passed multiple iconic horse racing studs and great scenery as the road started to climb through the foothills of the Barrington Ranges.  A right turn onto Alan Bridge Rd took us to a high level historic bridge over the river. Maximum weight allowance was one car at a time on the bridge. On arrival at Gundy we parked up at the local historic pub called Linga Longa Inn where we participated in a very sociable lunch all over seen by the resident hotel dog.

We returned via the boring roads ie New England Hwy and Hunter Valley Freeway to arrive home before the forecasted storms.

Thankyou Chris and John for organizing a memorable day in the country doing what we enjoy, driving our cars and getting together.