ACCOMMODATION – St Albans Writers' Festival

Heavenly venues to discuss literature.

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ST ALBANS

The small and picturesque village of St Albans lies at the heart of the Macdonald Valley and is known to locals as the Forgotten Valley. The area was home to the Dharug and Darkinjung people. Settled in the early 1800s by Europeans from the First Fleet, the area was later overlooked as Sydney started to sprawl northwards and westwards. Sandstone cliffs, lands teeming with native vegetation and wildlife, winding rivers and fertile paddocks are home to descendants of First Fleet settlers, as well as farmers, artists, writers, tree-changers and city dwellers who escape from Sydney to renew themselves in this ancient and magical place.

Stay for the weekend in the many bed and breakfast venues and weekend rental properties in and around St Albans and in Wisemans Ferry to make the best of the Festival and to discover the Forgotten Valley. Check out the accommodation links below.

A few quirks of St Albans

Coming from Sydney, you will have to cross the Hawkesbury by (free) 24 hour-a-day car ferry.

There is no wi-fi or mobile phone service in St Albans village (it stops once you cross the Hawkesbury). There are no service stations in the village so fill up at Wisemans Ferry.

There are no ATMs in the village (the nearest is Wisemans Ferry), so cash up before you arrive! With no internet service, we can’t link to credit card services so cash is the way to go, to buy books at Berkelouws, delicious food at Simmone Logue, a bottle of wine from the Festival wine bar or a beer and food from the historic Settlers Arms Inn.

DIRECTIONS

To get to St Albans from Sydney, go to Wisemans Ferry and take one of the free 24 hour-a-day ferries across the Hawkesbury River, then drive on to St Albans village. There are roads either side of the Macdonald River: St Albans Road on the west (reached by the Webbs Creek ferry just on the left as you enter Wisemans Ferry) and Settlers Road on the east (reached by Wisemans Ferry itself at the other end of the village). Note that Settlers Road has an unsealed section but a four-wheel drive is not necessary. If you are coming to St Albans from the north, you can head for Wisemans Ferry or reach St Albans by Wollombi Road. The village is tiny, so it’s easy to walk from venue to venue. Park your car and walk between the four venues for all the festival events (see VENUES below). NOTE: If you are using SatNav we recommend you program it to head for Wisemans Ferry (and then follow the instructions above) as these devices tend to avoid ferries, and can send you on a very long and arduous route to avoid them!

VENUES

Festival Hub:
St Albans Reserve

This is the hub for the weekend. Pick up your coloured wrist band and printed tickets at the festival registration marquee, get information, buy books and attend book signings in the Berkelouw’s marquee. This is where you hang out with locals, visitors and writers over a coffee and goodies or a glass of wine! There will be stalls of local produce, craft and plants.

St Albans Church,
Wharf Street

Situated at the top of Wharf Street on one of the highest sites in the village (it’s a bit of a steep walk so be prepared!) the Church of Saint Alban the Martyr is the only local church still in use. A timber chapel, opened in 1843, was replaced thirty years later by the current stone building made of local sandstone.

Settlers Arms Marquees (‘Gabrielle’ & ‘Ian’)
Wollombi Road

We have pitched two large marquees in the best pub garden in NSW to create more venues for our writers’ talks. The Settlers Arms is a local institution and the garden, according to the Good Food Guide, is a “seriously beautiful place to sit and drink the house beer”.

School of the Arts Hall
Upper Macdonald Road

Built by local residents in 1936 and lovingly cared for by the St Albans’ community, the School of the Arts Hall is one of few remaining charming community buildings of this type. The simple corrugated iron exterior, reminiscent of our colonial heritage, gives way to a large interior space. It is a short stroll over the historic bridge across the Macdonald River from Festival Hub. There are steps or a steep drive to access the Hall.

PARKING

Parking is available all around St. Albans village. If your need assistance or a disabled parking spot please contact us before the festival. Parking will be available on a first come first served basis.

ACCOMMODATION & CAMPING

Although St Albans is only two hours from Sydney, we recommend you make the best of the Festival by staying the night. That way you can enjoy everything that the Festival and St Albans has to offer. There is an abundance of options for accommodation – from bed and breakfast to some beautiful camping spots. Some venues below offer camping on their land, and there are limited camping sites in St Albans village itself. Keep in mind that some of our suggestions are closer to the Festival than others. The right hand column below lists places that are a little further afield.