The River Run Route
Start Trip
The Pub Route
thepubroute.com.au
Distance
286km
Pub Stops
4
Duration
1-2 Days
Driving Time
5hrs
The ‘River Run Route’ follows the Darling River down to Tilpa and back, including stops at Shindy’s Inn at Louth, and the famous Tilpa Hotel as well as numerous historic pub spots along the way.
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River Run Route
North Bourke
Four hotels jostled for trade when passing drovers, teamsters and shearers arrived at the staging post on the junction of the roads to Hungerford and Barringun, in the old days when the big mobs of a thousand or more head of cattle came from stations far to the North into Bourke railhead. The ‘Judas bullock’ led them across the span to their fate.
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PUB STOP | North Bourke Hotel
Perched on the corner at North Bourke, ‘The Northy’ is the first thing you’ll see after you cross the North Bourke Bridge, and its a great place to stop and get your bearings. The pub is a modern building recently opened which replaced the historic old riverview hotel that was destroyed by fire in 2010.
Car
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6.42km
Bourke
While only two hotels remain operational in Bourke, the outback town is synonymous with the outback, pioneering adventure, and the associated hotels that are scattered throughout the shire. Probably one of the most iconic towns in Australia, synonymous with the term ‘The Back of Bourke’, this small rural township is located on the banks of the Darling River, and is something of a regional centre for surrounding villages and properties. Sometimes known as ‘The Gateway to the Real Outback’ Bourke is a key service centre for fuel and supplies before heading out to explore the region.
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PUB STOP | Port Of Bourke Hotel
The grand old lady of Bourke, the port of Bourke (originally called ‘the Royal’) is one of the finest buildings in town, and also one of the finest pubs. A large, double story building with deep verandahs on both levels, the pub faces Mitchell Street and is close to the popular wharf precinct, and the newly paved and landscaped park areas around the river.
Car
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98.9km
Pub Spot | The Four Mile Hotel
The Four Mile Hotel was a short-lived licensed premises located on the travelling stock route between Bourke and Louth in the late 1870s. As the name suggests, the pub was about four miles from the town, but not to be confused with a later “Four-Mile Hotel” on the road east to Brewarrina.
Pun Spot | Commercial Hotel - Jandra
The Commercial Hotel was located at the 18 miles peg, downriver from Bourke within the travelling stock route that ran along the river to Louth. William Irwin was granted a lease of 8 acres of land to build a hotel, effective January 1, 1880.