Back in the car with a bottle of Pinot and a Perry to go with the evening meal, we headed on to the historic town of Richmond, founded in 1824 as a convict station and military post. It was, at the time a strategic location on the road between Hobart and Port Arthur. Take a glance at a decent map, and it's obvious the road had to go that way to avoid Pitt Water, but once the causeway between Cambridge and Sorell went in in 1872, Richmond was restricted to backwater status.
In the meantime, the community must have grown to the point where there was enough commerce with the surrounding area, and enough passing trade to maintain the impressive buildings to the point where the motorized tourist trade kicked in.
And it's obvious as you start to stroll around the town travellers are where it's at. We hadn't had a chance to snaffle breakfast, and we knew we were in for a substantial dinner, so it wasn't a case of playing catch up at the tucker terminal. As you'd expect there are a number of food options in the area and we ended up opting for the easiest.
Based on my lamb and pea pie, the Richmond Bakery's reputation is pretty well justified, and Madam's Salmon quiche was further endorsement. Nothing special or outstanding, but good food that serves to keep you going when the main item on the agenda is a walk around before a longish drive.
If you're in the area with time on your hands, look elsewhere, but for what we needed the Bakery hit the spot with uncanny accuracy.
Having eaten, the major item on the agenda was a walk down to the bridge, which was certainly impressive. As far as bridges in their setting go, I think I prefer the one at Ross, but there's not much in it. From there, a stroll along the river brought us back up to the stone walls of the Richmond Gaol, which obviously needed to be investigated, even though it wasn't part of the original game plan.