The Clog Barn has to be my absolutely favourite place that we visited while we were in Coff’s Harbour. This little gem is home to a miniature Holland with little houses, churches, windmills and two garden railway trains.
The Clog Barn is a must visit if you have little children who have never seen a miniature village. I think my kids felt like giants walking around a peeking over the hedges into this little land. My husband wasn’t as excited about the whole outing but we outweighed him 3:1.
You can find The Clog Barn and the accompanying Big Oma’s Coffee House at 215 Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour. Pacific Harbour is the main road that runs through Coffs Harbour between Sydney and Brisbane. This is most likely the road you entered Coffs Harbour on.
Clog Barn Gift Store
Start your tour inside the Clog Barn’s shop where you can watch clogs being made. Maybe even buy a pair if you’re up to walking in clogs. The little shop also stocks hand-painted tiles, cuckoo clocks and blue delft pottery. There isn’t much but the Dutch items they do have are lovely to look at.
If you’re interested in watching Clogs being made the demonstrations are on at 11am, 2pm and 4pm daily.
Miniature Holland
Clog Barn isn’t huge – you could do a full tour around the garden in half an hour. You would need to budget more time if you came with me and my kids though. We spent over an hour watching the trains and the models.
The village is set along a path that meanders around a small garden. The main path that you follow takes you from the Gift Shop, around the outside area and then back into the Gift Shop. The little buildings are set on both sides of the path. I didn’t count how many there were but there were enough, each being varied in design, to maintain your interest.
Included in the design of the garden is a water way. This allows for little windmills and turbines to be built into some of the buildings.
Once you’ve got to the top end of the garden you will find a little railway that the kids can turn on. Much to our children’s delight there were lizards on the track and the lizards would run away every time the train came past. My husband was not as excited as we were which still makes me giggle. There is a second railway further along the path next to the exit but I dont think you can turn it on and off.
The little buildings are all replicas of actual Dutch buildings, in amongst of which you can find the following:
- Drainage Mills of the Kinder
- a paper mill
- The Three Sisters in Amsterdam
- Drakenstein’s Royal Palace
- a lighthouse
- Cruquis Pumping Station
- The Alkmaar Cheese Market
- a toll collector’s house
- Gouda’s gothic style Town Hall
- Oudewater
- a harbour
All the models have been hand built by John and Tom Hartsuyker, Tom being Dutch born. This may be why I enjoyed The Clog Barn so much because you can see how much has been invested into this little piece of Holland.
Entry to The Clog Barn is free but you are asked to make a donation at the end of the walk through.
Big Oma’s Coffee House
There is also a coffee shop at the Clog Barn called Big Oma’s Coffee House which serves Dutch cakes, pastries, crepes and pancakes. There are also a few imported treats to buy.
Big Oma’s Coffee House is open from 8am to 5pm for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. The menu is available online at Big Oma’s Coffee House portion of the Clog Barn website.
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If you’re in Coffs Harbour and looking for more family friendly places to visit the following AllThingsMomSydney posts will be of help to you:
The Greenhouse is perfect for eating out with kids
