Old Road North – Tarlee to Saddleworth SA

The romantic name “Old Road North”, an abandoned railway and a chance to explore more of the Gilbert River. What more inspiration could I need for a ride?

Tarlee

Tarlee is a small town on the Horrocks Highway, notable for the Tarlee Bakery, which is a popular spot open seven days per week.

Riding north from Tarlee along the Old Main Road (now dirt), we followed the abandoned railway line that used to run to Burra and beyond.

After five kilometres, we came to this fence blocking the road.

Road Closed

What this photo doesn’t reveal is that in the area beyond the Road Closed sign, a group of steers (neutered male cattle) looked at us with interest.

Knowing that this area was a road reserve and perhaps showing more wish for adventure than sense, we decided to continue as planned. It took us some time to carefully open the gate.

and then close it behind us.

The track was sandy and occasionally had barbed wire across it. George’s tyre got tangled, and we stopped to help him.

As the paddock was narrow, the steers began to trot in front of us.

That’s when we noticed that some of the cattle had long horns.

Fortunately two of our group had experience in handling cattle, and they gave us instructions on how to proceed without alarming the catttle too much.

Nevertheless, I think we all breathed a sigh of relief, when after two kilometres, we reached the gate on the other side of the reserve.

I would not recommend using this road reserve, especially as there is an easy road on the other side of the railway track.

North to Saddleworth

Now we were out on a well made road again.

As we climbed towards Saddleworth, we passed a beautiful old stone enclosure where some sheep were being sorted.

We bypassed Riverton in the valley below and following Windy Hill Road, rolled down to the Gilbert River and the only significant railway bridge of the day.

Shortly after this, Rhonda noticed that there was a rainbow ring around the sun. Caused by ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, this kind of halo is an optical phenomenon occurring around the sun or the moon.

But soon we were thinking of our coffee stop, and rode without further incident into Saddleworth (see top photo).

Saddleworth

I had not been able to phone ahead to Ready Steady Eat Cafe in Saddleworth (now Valleys Edge Cafe), so they got quite a surprise when eleven of us arrived. There wasn’t enough seating for all of us, so we bought take-away and ate in the park next door.

Before heading south again, we had a look at the old Institute, built in 1873. The popular Saddleworth Country Market is held in and around the Institute on the first Sunday of each month.

After following the Barrier Highway south for 500 metres, we came to the gate which led into Winkler Reserve.

Winkler Reserve

In Winkler Reserve, you can follow an attractive track alongside the Gilbert River for over a kilometre.

Then you arrive at Winkler Cottage, which is thought to have been built in the early 1900’s. It has an interesting open kitchen arrangement at the back.

From there, it was a simple matter of following the Old Main Road North in a southerly direction to Riverton.

Riverton

Riverton is a charming historic town, one of the jewels of the Clare and Gilbert Valley region. It is also the start of the excellent Rattler Rail Trail.

We bought coffee and lunch at the Emporium Bakehouse. Unfortunately the Emporium is not open on Sundays, but you can still get food at the Riverton Deli or the Riverton Diner.

After lunch, we continued south, following the Old Main Road.

We stopped to have a look at an abandoned cottage. Imagine our surprise when a flock of sheep began to emerge from the front door! We all scrambled to take a picture, but Des was the only one quick enough.

Navan Cemetery

Only eight kilometres short of Tarlee, we came to historic Navan Catholic Cemetery, founded in 1850, and its mortuary chapel, built in 1900.

Although little remains today, in 1866 this predominantly Irish settlement had a population of over 300 people and included a school, Catholic church and a post office.

David took the opportunity to replace a punctured tube. Many hands make light work!

We cycled a little further and David’s tyre began to deflate again. While we stopped to wait for him to pump up the tyre, we noticed that Di’s back tyre was going down too.

At that, we decided to make a run for the finish line, which fortunately by now was only four kilometres away.

Summary of our ride on the Old North Road from Tarlee to Saddleworth

According to my Strava recording, we had climbed 336 metres over 52 kilometres. Most of the climbing had been in the first half of the ride.

I have provided a map of our ride below. However, I have removed the section where we crossed the road reserve and substituted an easier option.

Old Road North – Tarlee to Saddleworth

On our ride last year at Hamley Bridge, we had seen the lower reaches of the Gilbert River. Now we had seen the river winding its way from Saddleworth to Riverton and Tarlee before flowing south to Stockport and Hamley Bridge.

Particularly on a weekday when Valleys Edge Cafe or Dear Dorothy in Saddleworth and Emporium Bakehouse in Riverton are open, the Old Road North is a really enjoyable ride. Otherwise you could time your ride for lunch at the Gilbert Valley Hotel (highly recommended by locals). Another option would be to go on the first Sunday of the month when the Saddleworth Country Market is on.

Top photo : Riding into Saddleworth, photo by George Adams