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Longford, Tasmania · 20 minutes from Launceston
Seventeen minutes from Launceston Airport, sitting on the Heritage Highway at the edge of the Norfolk Plains, Longford is the kind of Tasmanian town that rewards the traveller who takes the time to look properly.
And there is a great deal to look at. Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites within walking distance of each other. The remnants of a 1960s Formula One circuit where legends ran at 288 kilometres per hour through open farmland. Georgian sandstone architecture so intact it is protected by a heritage overlay across the entire town centre. Good cafes, good pubs, good countryside, and stories layered so deep they take more than one visit to fully absorb.
Longford is 20 minutes from Launceston and sits at the natural heart of northern Tasmania’s most historically significant landscape. This guide covers everything you need to make the most of it.
Longford was settled by Norfolk Islanders in the early 1800s and grew quickly on the strength of the Norfolk Plains, some of the richest agricultural land in the colony. By the 1830s it was a prosperous rural centre, its main street lined with Georgian sandstone buildings that have changed remarkably little since. By the 1960s it was briefly and spectacularly famous for entirely different reasons, when its streets became a Formula One circuit and the world’s fastest racing drivers came to town.
Both stories are still visible here. The sandstone is still standing. The race circuit still exists, at least in outline. Walking the main street of Longford with any awareness of this dual history gives the town a texture that most visitors do not expect from a quiet rural centre of around 2,500 people.
A good first move is to stop into the Norfolk Plains Heritage Centre on Smith Street and pick up the National Trust’s Path of History walking map. It is free, it covers 34 heritage buildings across the town precinct, and it sets up everything else you do in Longford with useful context.
The 34-building heritage walk is the best way to get your bearings in Longford, and it is more engaging than a list of numbered buildings might suggest. The stories attached to these structures are specific and often surprising.
Heritage Corner on Wellington Street dates from the early 1830s and has served as an inn, a chemist and a watchmaker’s across its long life. The Blenheim Hotel, built in 1846, hosted Longford’s first agricultural show in its grounds. The former Working Men’s Club on the main street was funded by a local landowner’s wife and provided a gymnasium, library and lecture series for the working men of the town, though notably not for their wives. The old Toll House on the South Esk River is a reminder that the road running past Woolmers Estate was once a private road with a fee to use it.
The walk finishes at stops 33 and 34: Brickendon Estate and Woolmers Estate, the two UNESCO World Heritage properties that bookend Longford’s place in Australian history. It is a fitting conclusion.
Allow two to three hours at a comfortable pace.
At stop 20 on the heritage walk, Christ Church is worth more than a passing glance. Erected in 1839 and designed by Robert de Little, who also designed what is now the Colonial Motor Inn in Launceston, the church has a foundation stone laid by Lieutenant Governor Franklin in March of that year.
The celebrated window inside, presented by Charles Reid and designed by William Archer of Cheshunt, is regarded as among the finest examples of decorative glasswork in Tasmania. The churchyard carries the graves of many of Longford’s earliest settlers, including Ann Edmunds, recorded as the mother of the first child of British descent born on the northern side of Van Diemen’s Land.
During the 1950s and 60s, the streets and roads around Longford were transformed into the Longford Circuit, which hosted the Australian Grand Prix multiple times. The circuit used public roads running through open farmland, and the stretch known as The Flying Mile saw drivers reach speeds of up to 288 kilometres per hour with nothing but a wire fence between the cars and the paddocks.
You can still drive The Flying Mile today at legal speeds. The landscape that made the circuit so dangerous and so spectacular is essentially unchanged. For anyone with an interest in motorsport history, this is a significant site, and the Country Club Hotel on the main street displays racing memorabilia that adds context to the drive.
Woolmers Estate is one of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Longford and one of eleven Australian Convict Sites recognised for their outstanding universal value globally. It was founded in 1817 by Thomas Archer I and remained in the Archer family for six continuous generations until 1994, which is why it retains 180 years of artefacts, architecture and documentary records largely intact. It was never abandoned and never left the family’s hands. What that means for visitors is a property that reads as genuinely lived-in rather than restored, which is rarer than it sounds.
The estate covers 13 hectares with 18 original heritage buildings across three precincts: domestic, service and farm. The Unshackled exhibition in the Nigel Peck Centre tells the story of the Assignment System through individual convict histories, many of which end not with punishment but with skill, freedom and, in a number of recorded cases, a voluntary decision to stay. The National Rose Garden contains 5,000 roses across 460 varieties, at its most spectacular between October and February.
General admission covers the Unshackled exhibition, the rose garden, and access to all 18 buildings. Guided house tours of Woolmers House interior run at 11am and 2pm daily and are worth booking. The Rose Garden Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
Allow at least half a day, and ideally a full day if you are combining Woolmers with Brickendon.
A 2.8 kilometre flat walk along the Convict Farm Walk from Woolmers, Brickendon Estate is the working farm counterpart to Woolmers’ pastoral estate. Where Woolmers tells the story of the grand house and its assigned servants, Brickendon shows the farm village where convicts with trades put those skills to daily use. Seventh-generation Archer descendants still farm here, which gives the property an authenticity that no amount of interpretation can manufacture.
The daily animal feeding at 10:15am is a highlight, particularly for families. The farm buildings, many dating to the 1820s, are in active use. A combined visit to both estates across a full day is the most complete way to understand the Assignment System and its legacy in this landscape.
Longford’s food and cafe scene is modest in scale but genuinely good.
JJ’s Bakery on Marlborough Street is the reliable local option for a quick breakfast or lunch. Fresh bread, pies and the kind of straightforward bakery fare that has been sustaining country towns for generations.
Ernest and Ernesto on Wellington Street is the pick for coffee, with a cafe sensibility that sits comfortably alongside the heritage streetscape around it.
The Blenheim Inn Hotel, built in 1846, is a good family-friendly option for a sit-down pub lunch. The building itself is part of the heritage walk, which adds something to the experience of eating there.
The Country Club Hotel on the main street carries motor racing memorabilia that makes it a natural stop after driving The Flying Mile. Good pub food in a room full of Longford Circuit history.
The Rose Garden Cafe and Servants Kitchen at Woolmers Estate means you can find something to eat for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
Longford has a range of standard motel and short-term rental accommodation for visitors who want a functional base. For those who want their accommodation to be part of the experience rather than just a place to sleep, the heritage cottages at Woolmers Estate are the standout option in the region.
Six restored 19th-century cottages sleep between two and six guests, from $250 per night. Each is a genuine heritage building -stone or timber, with fireplaces and the character that comes from two centuries of continuous use. Overnight guests have the estate to themselves from around 7pm once day visitors have gone, which means access to 13 hectares of UNESCO World Heritage grounds, 18 original buildings and 5,000 roses in the garden, in complete privacy. It is a different experience from any standard accommodation in the region and one that is difficult to replicate elsewhere in Tasmania.
Particularly during Tasmania’s booming Off Season winter months, the cottages offer a brilliant retreat. Think crackling fires, frosty morning walks, and a profound sense of quiet that feels a world away from the bustle of modern life.
General admission to the estate, the Unshackled exhibition and the National Rose Garden is included with every cottage booking.
To help you seamlessly integrate Longford into your broader Tasmanian journey, here is how we recommend structuring your time.
Begin in the township of Longford itself. Pick up the National Trust heritage walk map and take your time through 34 of the town’s historically significant buildings. Visit Christ Church to view the 1842 stained-glass windows, the oldest in Tasmania. Then take your own vehicle for a careful, speed-limit-abiding cruise down The Flying Mile to honour the town’s racing heritage.
Longford has a good range of cafes, bakeries and local pubs serving hearty Tasmanian fare. JJ’s Bakery on Marlborough Street is a reliable stop, Ernest and Ernesto on Wellington Street is worth knowing for coffee, and the Blenheim Inn Hotel is an easy, family-friendly option for a sit-down lunch. The Country Club Hotel carries motor racing memorabilia that pairs well with a visit to The Flying Mile.
Make your way to Woolmers Estate for the afternoon. Take a guided tour to gain expert insights into the Archer family’s legacy that you simply won’t find on a plaque. Walk through the National Rose Garden, a 2001 addition to the estate designed to respect the formal 19th-century layout of the grounds. It is worth noting that Woolmers and Brickendon together cannot be done justice in a single afternoon. The history here runs too deep and the grounds too expansive to rush. That is precisely why this itinerary is built around an overnight stay, so that the following day can be spent exploring both estates properly, with complimentary general admission tickets included with your cottage booking and no sense of having to leave before you are ready.
With the day visitors yet to arrive and both estates at your feet, this is when Longford reveals itself fully. Spend the morning at Woolmers before walking the Convict Farm Walk across to Brickendon Estate. Two UNESCO World Heritage properties, one combined experience, and the rare feeling of having genuinely taken the time to understand a place rather than simply passed through it.
Longford’s location makes it an excellent base for exploring northern Tasmania. Here is what is within easy reach.
For a broader northern Tasmania itinerary using Longford as your base, including day-by-day guides to Mole Creek, Evandale, Ross, the Tamar Valley and beyond, see our complete guide: Northern Tasmania in 3 Nights or 5: An Itinerary from Woolmers Estate.
Evandale is 10 minutes away
One of the best-preserved Georgian towns in Australia, with a Sunday market on Russell Street that draws visitors from across the region.
Clarendon House is 19 minutes away
One of the finest Georgian mansions in the southern hemisphere, managed by the National Trust. Last admission at 3pm.
Josef Chromy Winery
is 20 minutes away. One of Australia’s most awarded cool-climate wine estates, with cellar door open from 10am and lunch served from 11:30am.
Launceston is 20 minutes away
Cataract Gorge, the Harvest Launceston Saturday market, galleries, restaurants and Launceston Airport.
Deloraine is 39 minutes away
Tasmania’s most culturally active inland town, with galleries, cafes and the Great Western Tiers as a backdrop.
Ross is 40 minutes south along the Heritage Highway
The convict-carved sandstone bridge, the Ross Village Bakery and one of the most intact colonial streetscapes in Australia.
Last grounds entry: 4pm
Grounds close: 6:30pm
20 minutes from Launceston
17 minutes from Launceston Airport
FREE entry when bringing interstate or overseas guests
