If I had to write down my dream weekend away close-to-home, Harry Potter, country air, and a historic house would come pretty darn close. About a week before the long Anzac Day weekend, a few friends and I spontaneously booked a trip to Laceys Creek, an hour’s drive north of Brisbane.

On route, we stopped in at Samford Village for brunch at Little Tree Bake and Brew House which has a relaxing, leafy green courtyard to sit out in alongside delicious food. Samford is a charming place with cute village shops to explore and a real country living vibe — I would love to live somewhere like this one day. I haven’t even mentioned the best part yet… you’ll also find The Store of Requirement there which offers Australia’s largest range of Harry Potter merchandise. Including bottles of butterbeer and chocolate frogs to enjoy, this shop is a real treat to experience if you’re a HP fan (and you can even get a photo with the Weasley car!).

Back on track to Laceys Creek, it’s a lovely, scenic ride for the rest of the way. Surrounded by the D’Aguilar State Forest and National Park, this rural suburb of the Moreton Bay Region is the ideal ‘no phone service’ kind of escape. With rolling green hills, an abundance of farm life, and fiery sunsets to enjoy, you can’t help but relax and rejuvenate here.

Just 10 minutes from Dayboro, our accommodation at Laceys Creek Homestead & Vineyard was found on Airbnb. Situated at the top of an 80acre working farm, this beautifully restored 1920s Queensland farmhouse has 12-foot ceilings, stained glass casement windows, a wood fire heater, and timber floors throughout. Careful attention has been made to restore all of the original hardware and windows so the house feels like it would have 100 years ago — very cool! My room was adorable yet a little creepy with a tiny old-fashioned high chair in there.

With numerous walking tracks to explore and incredible views of Laceys Creek valley below (especially at sunset), chickens scratching around the house yard, and plenty of ducks clucking around (their home is called Duckingham Palace), you feel like you’re a lot further away from Brisbane than an hour. The owner Ryan and his family live next door and were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for us.

During the day we took on a little country walk past the ground’s cows and other wildlife and we also took a drive out to do The Piccabeen walk in the North D’Aguilar section of D’Aguilar National Park. This boardwalk circuit has a mix of eucalypt and subtropical rainforests featuring piccabeen palm groves and enormous, silver-coloured Sydney blue gums.

Being Autumn and it being an old house, it was a great opportunity to wrap up warm, in the evenings to play board games and catch up without the distraction of technology. In fact, if you wanted to send a message or make a call, you had to walk to the far end of a field and sort of wave your phone in the air — not worth the hassle! A delightful weekend away in the country.