Cabin fever: Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew steamrolls ahead with plans for ‘crazy dream’

For stressed-out city slickers, a weekend getaway in the Australian countryside is a surefire method for some restorative R&R. But what started as a mini-break in NSW’s Bathurst turned into something much more for Sunrise presenter, Edwina Bartholomew, and her husband, Neil Varcoe. 

“We just fell in love with the area and so did what anyone does when cooking [up] a crazy dream; we Googled real estate in the area and up popped this guest house for sale,” Edwina told realestate.com.au.

“It was a commercial property with a business attached but it was the bones of the building we were interested in.”

Making an offer on the 1880s pub in the small town of Carcoar, the plucky pair were buoyed by the success of similar conversions in other rural towns. 

“The growth of ‘farmstay’ accommodation in regional Australia has been really inspiring,” explained Edwina.

Edwina and husband Neil bought the 1880s pub in regional NSW after something of a chance encounter. Picture: Supplied.

“There are so many examples of great properties that have taken previously disused buildings on larger farms or staff accommodation and transformed it into luxury accommodation.”

Soon after securing the property — which they have since rechristened ‘Saltash Farm’ — reality set in for the go-getters and, after crunching the numbers, they realised that the only way to make it work as a financially viable project was to incorporate cabins into their plans. 

“We only have one existing extra structure on the property that we could have turned into accommodation — a little shed at the back of the house,” explained the mum-of-two.

The family have grand plans to add to the high-end tourism offerings in the region. Picture: Supplied.

“But it would have taken too much effort to get it up to living standard. The only other option for us was to build from scratch — hence the cabins.”

“We checked with council to see if we could build on it before making an offer. We knew that we might be able to build a small business with five rooms in the main house but we really needed to generate more income if we were going to build a viable accommodation offering.”

The site at the rear of the main building previously had a couple of demountables left over from the Sydney Olympics, so the pair knew that they would be able to build on it. However, what seemed straightforward at the time, turned out not to be the case.  

Adding more accommodation in the form of cabins to the rear of the property is the only way to make the project financially viable. Picture: Supplied.

“We have had some complications — as always!” she said.

“The land slopes at the back towards a storm drain that has dictated where we can place the cabins. This means we have had to add a slight elevation to each of the cabins to ensure we are preparing for future flooding events.”

Before planning the cabins Edwina knew that creating accommodation that appealed to their target demographic was paramount to the venture’s success. 

The new cabins will be far more modern and luxurious than the property’s existing shed. Picture: Supplied.

“The cabins are designed for couples that want to share the same space, or larger families,” she explained.

“One is for a couple with the option of a fold-out couch to accommodate kids, and the third is an accessible option that sleeps two, but with the option of kids accommodated in it, too.

“Paralympian, Kurt Fearnley, is the most famous resident of Carcoar, so we really wanted to make sure our accessible cabin was the best of its kind. We have been chatting to different disability advocates about what makes effective and seamless accessible accommodation and then overlying it with the same interior design characteristics of the other cabins.”

“We originally looked to a pre-fab cabin but we were changing so many elements that it ended up not being cost effective.  Pre-fab is a fantastic option if you don’t want to engage an architect or engineer — and you need a really quick option. In the end, we had time and had already assembled a team of design experts so we decided to build using a simple gabled shed structure.”

Edwina and family have their work cut out for them to turn the property into ‘Saltash Farm’. Picture: Supplied.

While the heritage status of the property — and indeed the entire town is heritage protected — has added additional layers of red tape for the project, its history has also helped shape Edwina and Neil’s plans. 

“There is the most amazing stone convict-built structure next door that used to be part of the property,” explained Edwina.

“We are drawing a lot of inspiration from the shape of that building and incorporating some of the stone elements into the cabin structures, too.

As part of the process, Edwina and Neil have engaged ‘lost trades’ such as stonemasons. Picture: Supplied.

“They will mostly be clad in Abodo wood cladding with a Colorbond roof to emulate a lot of the other older structures in town. They will all have corrugated roofing but in different colours to the main house to mix up the look of the structures and make it look like they have always been there.”

While cabins often don’t need council approval, due to the heritage status of the property, Edwina and Neil had to include them in their DA submission — a DA that was filed recently. 

“It’s in, but who knows?” the Sunrise presenter said when quizzed on its status.

The family submitted the DA for their property just before Christmas, with the outcome still up in the air. Picture: Supplied.

“We are now entering a public consultation process for neighbours to have their say and the council to respond to our documents. We have been working with them very closely from the beginning, so hopefully it’s pretty straight forward.”

With time on their hands before they’re able to pick up tools Edwina and her husband are turning their attention to the landscaping around the cabins. And having already planted an orchard and landscaped extensively in their other rural property — a farm in the Capertee Valley near Mudgee in NSW — they’re clearly more than capable 

“We have actually decided to start with the landscaping before the cabins, so the plants and trees have a chance to settle in before we open,” she said. 

“We know how long it takes for a garden to be established and we are working around some already existing trees, so hopefully it will look lovely by the time Autumn 2025 and our opening date rolls around!”