Ford House Bed & Breakfast & Tearooms: Ron puts up his feet in the Mid North region of South Australia

Kapunda is a solid country town that speaks of wealth and prosperity with some of the best examples of South Australian Victorian era architecture anywhere in the State. Kapunda's pride in its past makes it a magnet for day-trippers from Adelaide. A short one-hour drive north of the city and you arrive in a town steeped in mining history and peppered with the stunning collection of grand buildings that accompanied its mining boom back in the 1840s.

But it's the town's sense of modern day community that brings many for much longer. Like Chris Little, a truck driver who makes the regular commute to Adelaide while his wife Liz creates the cosy ambiance for which their pride and joy - Ford House - is renowned.

Scour the walls of the Ford House tearoom and you'll see that Liz certainly indulges in a little antique retail therapy. Stay a night or two, at this cosy bed and breakfast, and no doubt you'll be invited to take part in one of her passions - the taking of tea. But the quaint tea taking ceremony of today is a long way from the original role of Ford House.

Liz Little, Ford House: "The Ford family built this house we believe in 1860 and set it up as a general store covering all sorts of things from foodstuffs to clothing, mainly for the mining community."

With three bedrooms upstairs, Ford House today offers visitors the perfect base from which to dig deep into Kapunda's history.

Liz Little, Ford House: "A lot of people come to stay the night on their way through and they don't realise how much there is to do here. They say we'll stay the night and get up tomorrow and explore a bit more because they didn't realise that there is as much to do as there is."

Like a heritage drive, which brings you to the mine site that transformed the economic fortunes of a struggling colony with a copper ore body - said to be the richest in the world at the time. With that wealth came grand buildings like Kapunda's museum - one of the best regional museums in the State and certainly worth a visit.

Ford House has accommodation for three couples. It offers a great base from which to explore the nearby Barossa and Clare Valleys. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Ford House Bed & Breakfast & Tearooms
80 Main Street
Kapunda

Rooms from $110 per night

Contact Liz Little on 8566 3341

Published 13th September 2009