Cheltenham Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Cheltenham

The railway line linking Port Adelaide with the centre of the city bisects the suburb of Cheltenham.

The Port, where you can wander back through time strolling through old streets and wharves which once hosted a forest of masts and rigging, is often described as the state's museum capital.

The precinct museums trace maritime, rail, aviation, transport and military history. Although the memories of the golden age of sail when clippers traded cargo from the four corners of the world are largely confined to the museums, a couple of tall ships and the restored steam tug Yelta still tie up alongside cruise liners and modern bulk carriers.

If you strike trouble trying to plot a course through this living museum, make a beeline to the well-signed Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre.

Just 3km to the west of the Port, Fort Glanville stands at the most detailed of the chain of fortresses built along the Australian coast in the wake of the Crimean War when there was a genuine fear of invasion by Russia.

Located at Semaphore, which also boasts the Time Ball Tower by which captains set their ships" chronometers by the daily drop of a black ball at precisely 1pm, the fort is open to the public every third Sunday from September to May.