Discover Raleigh: Wine, Art and Cycling

Discover Raleigh in New South Wales through a range of interests: wine and food, a challenging road cycling route, art in November, and historic memorial sites. These themes offer different starting points for planning your trip. You might want to make a vineyard tour the centerpiece, plan a longer cycling loop, or time your trip around the Bellingen Shire Arts Trail. Raleigh offers more than one reason to stay: food, activity, and culture each bring their own focus.

Wine, vineyard and views of the Bellinger River

At Raleigh Winery, visitors can discover the family vineyard on a vineyard tour. They can also enjoy a glass of wine and a charcuterie plate there. From the terrace, the view stretches across the Bellinger River. The tour, wine and food, and the view offer different ways to experience Raleigh: you can focus on learning about the vineyard or on the food and scenery. If you plan your trip around culinary interests, the winery offers more than just a single activity.

The Raleigh–Bellingen loop

The Raleigh–Bellingen loop is 45 kilometres long and is designed as an out-and-back route. It is a challenging road cycling route through rolling countryside, following the Old Pacific Highway through Raleigh. For your cycling plans, you can think of the distance as the total there-and-back journey; the challenging rating and hilly terrain also describe the route’s profile. The route through Raleigh provides a specific point of reference along the way. This makes the ride a different focus from a vineyard tour or art: here, cycling, the road route, and the 45 kilometres take centre stage.

Memorial sites and art in November

At the entrance to Prince of Peace Anglican Church in Raleigh are two memorial plaques commemorating parish members who served in the First World War. The church’s lychgate was built in 1922. The plaques remember people from the parish, while the year gives the lychgate a date. This brings a specific act of remembrance together with a dated architectural feature—a distinct cultural focus alongside Raleigh’s culinary and sporting themes.

The Bellingen Shire Arts Trail also passes through Raleigh. It takes place every year over a weekend in November and also includes Bellingen, Dorrigo, and Urunga. In the participating towns, local artists open their studios, galleries, and workshops. If art is a deciding factor for your trip, plan around the November weekend and check the specific event date. The trail connects several places; Raleigh is part of the route, not its only location. Unlike the cycling loop, the annual event date sets the timeframe here.

Another connection to Raleigh

Raleigh Raceway, also known as Raleigh International Raceway, is a sprint venue in Raleigh, New South Wales. This adds motorsport to the mix of wine, cycling, and culture.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Lawrence, Neutral Bay, Murrumbateman, Walcha, Mumbil, Yenda, Gulgong, Darlington.

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.