‘Stick to your guns’ – Stewart Backs England and a Different Side of Canberra
The Ashes build‑up has suddenly put Canberra in the spotlight. While former England captain Alec Stewart is telling the team to “stick to their guns” over their tour game in Australia’s capital, most fans only see the city as a line in a fixtures list, a warm‑up venue on the way to bigger stadiums in Sydney or Melbourne. But if you follow this story beyond the pitch, Canberra quietly reveals itself as one of the most surprising city escapes in Australia right now.
As England’s squad settles into training nets and team meetings in the nation’s political hub, the rest of us can use this moment as an excuse to zoom out: What does a cricket warm‑up city look like when the crowds go home? What kind of weekend escape hides behind the headlines, beyond the boundary rope and the TV cameras? Think lakeside sunrises, cool‑climate wine, and a night sky that makes you forget you’re in a capital city at all.
Below are five ways to experience Canberra as a city escape, inspired by the very places and rhythms that visiting teams and fans are moving through *right now*.
Walking the Boundary: From Manuka Oval to Manuka Village Streets
If you’ve seen any preview of the England tour match, you’ve already had a glimpse of Manuka Oval: the white picket fences, the grandstands framed by eucalypts, that intimate, almost village‑green atmosphere. But once stumps are drawn, the real charm is how quickly the cricket world melts into a walkable, human‑scale neighborhood.
Step out through the gates and within minutes you’re in Manuka’s leafy streets, where cafés open early for jet‑lagged fans and late‑working journos. On match days, baristas talk spin bowling with locals in Brumbies jerseys; on quiet mornings, the same streets feel like a suburban retreat. Sit outside with a flat white and watch the touring‑team buses roll by, or wander the nearby Griffith shops where players sometimes sneak in, caps low, looking for a low‑key dinner.
To turn this into a proper city escape, time your day like a Test: a slow first session of coffee and pastries, a middle session of aimless strolling past old bungalows and jacarandas, and a final session of wine bars and small plates. It’s the same neighborhood the professionals are decompressing in after hours—only you’re free from nets, media calls, and selection debates.
A Capital Seen From the Boundary Rope: Lake Burley Griffin at Sunrise
While analysts argue whether England are right to “stick to their guns” tactically, Canberra sticks to its own master plan quite literally: a city designed around a lake. From above, Lake Burley Griffin looks almost too symmetrical, a piece of geometry dropped between Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial. From the water’s edge at dawn, it feels like a very different kind of stadium—silent stands of black swans, mist drifting like low‑cloud cover over an outfield.
If you’re in town around the tour game, set your alarm early and walk the lakeside path just as the sky turns from deep blue to pale gold. You’ll likely pass a few England‑shirted joggers shaking off the previous night’s craft beers, plus local rowers slicing through the water in tight formation. This is where Canberra feels less like a political capital and more like a lakeside resort that never quite got the memo that it’s meant to be “serious”.
Rent a bike and follow the cycle path that circles the lake, pausing at the National Gallery’s sculpture garden or the National Library’s café terrace. If an afternoon session at the cricket drifts, you can almost picture hopping off a city bus, cutting through Commonwealth Park, and trading the sound of ball on bat for the soft slap of water against the shore. In a city known for policy papers and press conferences, this ring of water might be Canberra’s most underrated escape hatch.
Between Innings: Parliamentary Triangle by Day, Braddon by Night
Every visiting team schedules its days with military precision: nets, gym, team meetings, rest. Travellers can do the same—but with exhibitions instead of fielding drills. The Parliamentary Triangle, just a short ride from Manuka, is where you’ll find the institutions you keep seeing in cutaways during every political news bulletin: Parliament House on its grassy hill, the High Court, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery.
Spend a few hours here between fixtures and you’ll see school groups, diplomats, and the odd player wandering anonymously through world‑class exhibitions. Duck into the National Gallery to stand in front of iconic Australian works, then step outside into air that smells faintly of clipped lawns and warm stone. From certain angles, with the flags whipping in the wind and the symmetry of the boulevards stretching out in front of you, Canberra can feel more like a movie set than a city.
When the sun drops and the day’s play is over, swap marble hallways for Braddon’s converted warehouses. This is Canberra’s current “it” district, the place young public servants, students, and visiting fans all gravitate to for craft beer, natural wine, and $5 bánh mì. Lonsdale Street glows with neon and fairy lights, and the conversations slide effortlessly from DRS decisions to local politics and back again. It’s a reminder that while national teams debate strategy, cities reinvent themselves one small bar at a time.
Outfield to Vineyards: A Cool‑Climate Wine Detour
As pundits dissect England’s preparation in Canberra, local businesses quietly hope the touring caravan might wander beyond the city limits. Follow the same instinct and you’ll discover one of the capital’s most surprising assets: its cool‑climate wine country, sitting just 20–40 minutes in almost any direction.
The Canberra District produces rieslings with razor‑clean acidity, elegant shiraz, and increasingly interesting gamay and tempranillo. Take a half‑day escape from the fixtures and head toward Murrumbateman, where cellar doors look out over rolling hills that, in soft afternoon light, could almost be Tuscany on a budget airline. While fans check their phones for team news, you’ll be swirling a glass, discussing vintages with winemakers who might casually mention which international cricketers have visited between tours.
The contrast is part of the appeal: one moment you’re in a stadium debating batting orders; the next you’re on a deck, kangaroos in the distance, glass in hand, the only decision being which bottle to take back to your apartment. Plan ahead—book tastings, designate a driver, or join a small group tour—and you can turn what’s essentially England’s warm‑up base into your own European‑style wine weekend, without ever leaving the ACT and its fringes.
Night Watch: Dark Skies, Cold Air, and a Different Kind of Test
While day‑night Tests experiment with pink balls and floodlights, Canberra’s real magic often begins after stumps. One of the reasons statisticians love this city—beyond its orderly layout—is its clear air and relatively low light pollution compared to other capitals. That’s great news for anyone who prefers star‑gazing to scoreboard‑watching once the final wicket falls.
On a crisp evening, leave the city grid behind and head toward Mount Stromlo or the edge of the suburbs that bleed into the Brindabella Ranges. Even from lookout points like Mount Ainslie or Red Hill, you get a double show: the city’s illuminated geometry below and a dome of stars above that can make you forget your phone has signal. The same dryness that helps swing bowlers occasionally find their groove also gives you those pin‑sharp constellations.
Pack a jacket—the temperature can drop quickly at night—and bring a thermos or pick up something warm from a late‑night bakery on the way. This is Canberra at its most unexpectedly romantic: no crowds, no commentary, just the hush of wind through trees and distant city noise. It’s a different kind of test of patience and attention, the sort where you sit quietly until your eyes fully adjust and another layer of night reveals itself.
Conclusion
As Alec Stewart defends England’s decision to “stick to their guns” over a low‑key tour game in Canberra, the city itself is quietly making a case for sticking around a little longer. To most cricket followers, this week’s headlines are about selection, form, and preparation. But between training sessions, political briefings, and media scrums, Australia’s capital is showing that it can double as a laid‑back, deeply livable city escape.
From lakeside sunrises and boundary‑to‑bar walks in Manuka, to Braddon’s nighttime energy, vineyard afternoons, and star‑soaked hillsides, Canberra keeps offering moments that feel miles away from the noise of international sport—even as it hosts it. If you’ve ever dismissed it as just a stopover between bigger games and bigger cities, this Ashes build‑up is your invitation to see it differently. The teams will move on soon enough; the escape they’ve accidentally highlighted will still be here, waiting for you to write your own innings in Australia’s most underestimated capital.