On Day 4 of the rally run a few of us peeled off and rode out to Echuca on the Murray for lunch. The town was packed - long weekend, race day on the Sunday - and first stop was the Shamrock Hotel, right on the main street in the heart of the historic Port precinct.
The first thing that gets you is the menu. The Shamrock is home of 101 parmas - a hundred and one of them to choose from. A hundred and one. How do you even pick?
It’s one of those lovely old pubs that’s kept all its original charm and character, then bolted on a side extension for a beer garden and sports bar - so you get the best of both worlds. The big screens had the Melbourne Grand Prix on, cold beer in hand, a feed on the way. Hard to beat that on a sunny long weekend.
The old part of the pub is where the character lives - the barrel room with its stacked whisky barrels, exposed brick and old framed prints on the walls.
And when the sun’s out, the beer garden out the back is the spot.
If you’re rolling through Echuca, the Shamrock is an easy call - park out front, pick one of the 101 parmas, and settle in. Doing the Echuca pub crawl? The Echuca Hotel and the Star Hotel are both a short stroll down High Street.
The Spot