The Byron I love
We have been going to Byron as a family for years. I love the ocean and Wategos, but also the hinterland, the little villages, the food, the farms and all the places you discover once you head inland.
Drive twenty minutes inland and the scenery changes completely. The roads wind through lush green hills and farmland, past old timber houses, macadamia orchards and roadside stalls, with little villages appearing every so often. Bangalow, Newrybar and Federal are some of my favourites, with their farmers markets, lovely shops, cafés and restaurants. I love how much emphasis there is on fresh local produce, healthy living and spending time outdoors.
The food is a huge part of it for me. The Northern Rivers has extraordinary produce and a long culture of farmers markets, organic growing and buying locally. A perfect day for us usually starts with breakfast somewhere with fresh, delicious food, ideally sitting outside in one of the villages watching people come and go. We might wander through a market, drive through the hinterland and stop at a farm stall or two, then head back to the coast for a swim at Clarkes or Tallows in the afternoon before showering and getting ready for dinner.
I also spend far too much time looking at properties in the Byron hinterland and talking about them with friends. I love the homes that use natural materials, locally sourced timber and large openings onto gardens and the surrounding countryside.
One property I particularly love is Copperstone, created by Emma and Tom Lane of The Range Estates on 48 acres near Bangalow. I love the interiors, the architecture and especially the natural materials they have used throughout the house.
Australian hardwood from the original house was reused in the stables, while stringybark for the main house was regeneratively produced and sourced from an Indigenous group in Cape Tribulation.
I also love that the property has horses and stables, a walled garden, walking tracks, a mineral pool and a wellness area.
I can see why homes like this are becoming so appealing, with space for family and friends, somewhere to grow your own food, keep animals and spend more time outdoors. I also love the idea of extended family being able to stay together, especially as children grow up and have families of their own.
Obviously, not everyone needs 48 acres or a dressage arena, but I think we will see more homes in Australia designed with these things in mind, along with more natural materials, sustainable building methods and consideration for the surrounding environment.
A Few Places We Always Go Back To
Bangalow
I always make time for Bangalow, with its lovely old main street, cafés, interiors and clothing stores. I love looking in Island Luxe and The Rug Shop, particularly for the old Persian and tribal rugs. Sparrow Coffee is a favourite for sitting outside and watching the world go by.
Newrybar
Newrybar is tiny, but I love it. The Little General is great for coffee and a few things to take home, and I also like browsing 1881 and The Old Pacific. I used to love Newrybar Merchants too, which has sadly closed its physical shop. It is such a pretty little village, and the surrounding countryside is beautiful.
Federal
Federal is even smaller and much more rural. We usually stop at Moonshine Coffee or Doma, which started as a sushi stall at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market and now does beautiful Japanese food using a lot of local produce. I also like wandering into the general store and Ruby and Frank, where Natalia makes ceramics from her home studio and shop in the village.
Wategos
Wategos is still one of my favourite beaches in Australia. It’s a relatively small beach, but absolutely beautiful. We usually go in the afternoon for a swim. Soul Kitchen is a great little stop for coffee or an ice cream, and of course Raes is right on the beach if you want lunch, a drink at the Cellar Bar or dinner.
Somewhere New
The Bonobo by Raes opened in Byron this year, from the team behind Raes on Wategos. The architecture is by Richards & Spence, who also designed The Calile in Brisbane, with interiors by Studio Manifold and Birdy Catalano.
What caught my eye is the mix of locally and internationally sourced vintage furniture with pieces made specifically for the hotel. There is also a large central courtyard, rooftop pool, dining, retail and a wellness space with saunas, ice baths and steam rooms.
I haven’t stayed yet, but it is firmly on my list.
What I love about Byron is the whole mix of it. The beaches, the hinterland, the drives between the villages, the organic produce, the farms, the small boutiques and the creative people who have made a life there. Everything feels relaxed and natural, but still beautifully considered.
There is something very easy about the days too. Fresh food in beautiful settings, long lunches, barefoot afternoons, a swim at Wategos, dinner somewhere lively in the evening, or sunset drinks at Belongil. We also love The Treehouse nearby for its laid back atmosphere, especially later in the day.
Object with a Past
I have always loved finding pieces that you do not see everywhere, especially those with some age, character or history to them. When I had my homewares store, I spent a lot of time sourcing pieces.
Markets are still one of my favourite places to look for things. I’m drawn to French brocantes, antique markets, estate sales, old furniture stores and little village markets. I love coming home with something I know I will keep for years and remembering where I found it.
I also love looking on Etsy, where you can find beautiful old pieces from all over the world. I often search for vintage rugs, old textiles, sculptures and unusual objects. I’ve bought a small bronze sculpture from Nepal and some antique Indian brass pots, which I love. It’s amazing what you can find.
Vintage rugs are a particular weakness of mine, especially old Persian and tribal rugs with faded colours and beautiful patterns.
The same goes for old furniture and decorative pieces. A room can be beautifully designed, but it is often the slightly unexpected things that make it memorable. An old chair beside a newer sofa, a worn timber table, a piece of pottery, an antique mirror or something brought back from a trip.
I think provenance matters more to me now too. Not necessarily in the serious auction house sense, but simply knowing where something came from, who made it or that it had a life before it arrived in your home.
I love bringing things home from my travels, even if it’s just a small piece of pottery, an old painting or something I found in a market.
SOMETHING I LEARNT THIS WEEK
I was at the Northside Produce Market with friends yesterday morning and my friend Lieske got talking to one of the stallholders who makes chutneys and jams. He was telling her how the producers at the market work with each other, using ingredients that might otherwise go to waste. Orange rinds from one stall might end up in a preserve at another, while other surplus ingredients are shared between stallholders.
I had never really thought about that side of a produce market before, but I loved hearing it. It’s lovely knowing that the growers and makers support each other and that so little goes to waste.
WildLand, Scottish Highlands
I went to boarding school in Scotland and spent a lot of time in the Highlands, usually outdoors and often being pushed well outside my comfort zone. We would be dropped in the Cairngorms with maps and backpacks and told to make our way to a meeting point, camping overnight, drinking fresh water from mountain streams and occasionally getting completely stuck in bogs. The boys also thought it was hilarious to sneak rocks into my backpack.
We also spent time sailing around Oban and the west coast, which is another part of Scotland I remember so clearly. I still think Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere, from the islands and sea lochs of the west coast to the mountains, forests and huge open spaces of the Highlands.
Looking through the WildLand properties brought back so many of those memories.
WildLand has a collection of beautifully restored houses, cottages, lodges and a castle across the Cairngorms, Loch Ness and Sutherland. The accommodation ranges from tiny houses for two to larger properties for families and groups of friends, all surrounded by some incredible Scottish scenery.
Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen have a 200 year vision for restoring the Highland landscapes under their care, with work underway to restore native forests, peatlands, rivers and wildlife habitats. Their estates stretch across some of Scotland’s most beautiful countryside, from the ancient pine forests of the Cairngorms to the mountains, lochs and white sand beaches of Sutherland.
The interiors are gorgeous too. Lots of beautiful timber, natural stone, wool, linen and really comfortable furniture. I love the warm colours, the simplicity of the design and how cosy the rooms look, especially after a day outside in the Scottish weather.
At one end of the scale is Aldourie Castle, a 400 year old baronial castle sitting directly on Loch Ness, surrounded by 500 acres of gardens, woodland and wildflower meadows. You can take the whole castle for up to 24 people, which would be incredible for a big family gathering or a few families travelling together.
At the other end are the tiny houses for two.
Kyle House, in Sutherland, sits alone amongst the mountains and the Flow Country and sleeps just two people. The old stone building has been restored with beautiful timber and stone interiors, with very little around apart from the landscape.
I love that you could come here as a couple and disappear into a tiny house for a few days, or come back with children, parents and friends and take over a larger lodge or castle.
One of the newest properties is Hope, in Sutherland, which opened in 2026. It is a restored nineteenth century lodge beneath Ben Hope, with seven bedrooms, a separate cabin and two cottages on the edge of Loch Hope.
The interiors were designed by Cécile & Boyd and use oak, flax, tweed and other natural materials. The cottages are lined in antique Scots pine, with deep baths, fires and views straight across the water to the mountains.
Days can be spent hiking through the mountains, swimming or paddleboarding on the lochs, fishing, cycling or heading out with WildLand’s conservation team. You can also explore the forests on horseback or walk along the huge empty beaches in Sutherland.
The food sounds wonderful too. At Lundies House in Tongue, the kitchen works with seasonal, local and foraged ingredients, along with vegetables and herbs grown by WildLand and preserves made in house. Hope also makes good use of produce from the estates and local suppliers.
I love how remote these properties are. Lundies is around two hours north of Inverness, with Hope even further into Sutherland. I can imagine spending the days walking in the mountains, swimming in the lochs and coming back to a warm fire, beautiful food and a glass of wine in the evening.
Writing about WildLand has made me want to go back to Scotland, and knowing how much work is going into restoring and protecting these beautiful landscapes makes me even more interested in visiting.
My Book Recommendation This Week
I came across Veranda Destination Design: A Celebration of Global Style by Robin Sutton Anders this week. It looks at 34 homes and hotels around the world, from a Seville apartment by Amaro Sánchez de Moya to a New York townhouse by Michael S. Smith, as well as countryside estates and coastal retreats.
I really loved writing this one. Byron is somewhere we have many family memories, and looking through WildLand brought back a lot of Scotland for me too.
See you next week,
Anna x
Next holiday Scotland! Wonder why we love the same things Anna 🤗
Now I need to go to Scotland! 🤦♀️😘