Bickley: Observatory, Wine and Landscape

A trip to Bickley can focus on different interests: the astronomy and history of Perth Observatory, wine at Plume Estate Vineyard, or the nearby Bickley Reservoir Trail. When looking for a hotel in Bickley, it helps to set a clear priority: would you rather include historical topics, a guided observation, a wine tasting, or landscapes and views in your trip?

Perth Observatory: History and Astronomy

Perth Observatory is the oldest observatory in Western Australia and moved to Bickley. Its heritage museum explores the observatory’s history as an astronomical research institution. In the newly founded colony of Western Australia, the institution’s main tasks were timekeeping and positional surveying. The terms refer to two different fields of work: timekeeping concerns the measurement of time, while positional surveying determines positions. The historical profile also includes Perth Observatory’s Lowell Telescope, which, among other things, made discoveries about Uranus’s ring system. This historical perspective therefore spans the observatory’s role in the colony and a specific astronomical discovery.

Perth Observatory’s guided daytime tours include a visit to the Indigenous Astronomy Centre Worl Wangkiny. Night-sky tours offer a different focus: knowledgeable volunteers use telescopes to guide visitors across the southern night sky and show nebulae, dying stars, star clusters, and the Moon and planets, if they are visible. The focus is key when choosing between the tours: the daytime tour includes a visit to the centre, while the night-sky tour focuses on observing visible celestial objects.

Wine at Plume Estate Vineyard

Plume Estate Vineyard is a family-run boutique winery in the Bickley Valley. Its wines are available at the cellar door and online, so you can buy them without visiting the estate. The entire estate is open exclusively to guests aged 18 and over. Guided wine tastings feature a selected range of artisan wines. They introduce the grape varieties, winemaking, and the history of individual vintages. The tastings therefore combine sampling with insights into different aspects of the wines.

The Cellar Door seating area offers a selection of dishes to share, paired with wines produced at the winery. Tables can only be reserved by guests who buy wine. If you plan to book a table, factor in a wine purchase.

Landscapes nearby

The Bickley Reservoir Trail starts at the Hardinge Road Carpark in Bickley. In the vicinity of Bickley, it follows a ridgeline through Wandoo and sheoak forests and past granite outcrops. Views stretch across the valley and the reservoir below to the city. The trail therefore offers a different perspective from the observatory’s night-sky tours: here, the view takes in the valley and water all the way to the city, rather than celestial objects.

Discover more destinations: Glen Forrest, North Beach, Swanbourne, Harrisdale, Kings Park, Balingup, Beermullah, Monkey Mia

For the broader travel overview: Western Australia.