A slow food and distillery tour is taking travellers into the hidden lanes of Ballarat

Discover the tastes and tales of Ballarat on this slow guided walking tour.

Most experienced traveller’s have an epic story of discovery etched into their travel diary; one where they are wandering through streets with no agenda or plan, they take a wrong turn at a laneway and find a culinary treasure tucked into the quiet.

It’s the rush of the rare find. It’s the exclusivity of the experience away from the crowded tourist spots. It’s a secret shared only between you and the locals. It’s the making of a memorable moment.

This idea of slow travel meets uncovering dining dimes is the premise behind Ballarat-based walking tour company, Hidden Lanes.

Hidden Lanes

• Where: Ballarat CBD, leaving from Ballarat Railway Station
• When: From Sunday 27 July 2025
• Cost: $127 – $159. Buy ticket here

Keep up to date with the latest in food and drinks across regional Victoria here.

 

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Stemming from life in South Korea where the concepts of “slow living” and “slow food” are embedded in their culture, Emma and Jarrod Hall started to integrate the practice into their own lifestyle. This inspired the two to travel by bike around Jeju Island, documenting their journey and the stories of the people they met, and curating a Slow Travel guidebook.

Returning to Australia and settling into the culturally rich region of Ballarat, the city’s urban planning lent itself to continuing the slow living lifestyle. With a thriving hospitality scene embedded into the silent streets in and around the city centre, and a fascinating history attached to the region, the couple translated their travel style into guided tours.

Hidden Lanes takes tourists and locals alike on a curated culinary and cultural wander through the alley’s, laneways, and quiet streets of Ballarat. Across a 2.5 hour guided walking tour, small groups are taken through the tastes and tales of area.

 

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Emma Hall explains, “It was a transferrable concept that worked into the Ballarat landscape well. There are so many little hidden away gems, and laneways, and history, and stories, and so much art and culture. You need to take the time to explore and the idea of walking the streets as a “slow travel” experience is the perfect way to absorb that.”

Adding to the experience, Hidden Lanes will this weekend launch a new offering to their audience. The Ballarat Slow Food and Distillery Walking Tour takes off this Sunday 27 July from 12.30pm, guiding groups through the gastronomy of Ballarat.

The 2.5 hour guided walking tour is curated to fill participants with great foods, drinks and stories of the city. It includes a guided walk through historic streets and tucked-away corners, a tasting flight at one of Ballarat’s award-winning gin distilleries (equal to one standard drink in total), a delicious progressive lunch featuring regional ingredients including cheeses and fresh locally sourced produce, and coffee and tea with scones and jam to finish it off.

“This tour was inspired by the places themselves. There’s quite a few distillery in close proximity to each other in the CBD. It’s just an exciting thing really to be able to walk between distilleries and then also have cheeses and produce that we have sourced to create a really interesting experience,” Hall says.

“There is obviously gin and then we also have other dishes that reflect the history of Ballarat. The region has very strong Chinese and Asian influence stemming from the Gold Rush so we include that. We also have some awesome wood fired pizza with the dough fermenting and rising across a day, lots of local food and we finished off with a Devonshire Tea as a nod to the history of the Gold Rush as well. All of these food experiences are held in tucked away spaces and along the way we reveal stories from the history of Ballarat.”

The guide is not your usual history lesson. The tales told on the Slow Food and Distillery Walking Tour capture the culture and charm of Ballarat as an evolving city. It draws from Emma Halls event curation background and Jarrod Hall’s arts background, adding a creative flare to the storytelling.

“The tour tell tales from Ballarat in the Gold Rush and also present day; tales that people will find really interesting and you wouldn’t know if you were visiting by yourself.”

 

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The structure of the tour incites meaningful dialogue to connect place and people, whilst nurturing a sense of comfort for the small groups to bond. By the end, you will be both full from the food, but also from the nourishing experience.

Ballarat Slow Food and Distillery Walking Tours are primary held of a Sunday to represent the more slow nature of the day, but are also open for small group bookings Thursday to Sunday. The tour leaves from Ballarat Railway Station to encourage slow travel to Ballarat via the train service.

In addition to the tour, all ticketholders will also receive an A5 Ballarat art print (Ballarat black cockatoo or swan) and the Ballarat Slow Travel Digital Guide to encourage further slow solo exploration of the city.

To find out more about Hidden Lanes and the Slow Food and Distillery Walking Tour, or to book your spot, head here.

Words by Staff Writer