Ryanston · Bass Coast Victoria · 90 min from Melbourne
A 1902 heritage church & a contemporary timber pavilion
beneath the oldest trees on the Bass Coast
The Property
Perched on a gentle hill above the rolling Bass Coast hinterland, The Little Woods is one of Victoria's most singular retreats. A heritage-listed 1902 church and a meticulously crafted contemporary timber pavilion, set together beneath a cathedral of ancient Cypress trees in Ryanston.
The church has been lovingly restored — Gothic leaded windows, original shiplap walls, heritage arches — and paired with a marble kitchen island, a freestanding wood stove, and a claw-foot bath with floor-to-ceiling countryside views.
The pavilion is something else entirely. Dark walnut panels, a full glass gable framing rolling fields, and a bedroom that blurs the line between inside and out. Two buildings. One extraordinary stay.
Two Structures
White weatherboard, Gothic arched leaded windows, freestanding wood stove and marble kitchen. Light, romantic and full of original heritage detail.
Dark timber cladding, full-height glass gable, walnut-lined interior and a bedroom that frames rolling Victorian pastures and open sky.
Gallery
The Pavilion · Dark & Intimate
The pavilion is an exercise in considered restraint. Dark walnut panels, warm pendant light, linen and sheepskin. And then the full glass gable — a floor-to-ceiling triangle of countryside, ancient trees, and open Victorian sky.
The bedroom faces the hills. The glass-pavilion bathroom sits adjacent — completely private, entirely surrounded by garden.
The Church · Light & Romantic
The church has been restored to honour everything original while layering in something entirely new. Original shiplap ceilings, heritage Gothic windows, beautiful arched alcoves — paired with a curved marble kitchen island, a freestanding wood stove on a travertine plinth, and furnishings chosen like gallery pieces.
The bathroom is a destination: a claw-foot bath set against a full glass wall, with nothing but rolling countryside beyond the linen curtain.
Book Your Stay
The Little Woods is available across three platforms. Same extraordinary property — choose whichever works best for you.
Weddings & Elopements
One address for the whole celebration. Exchange vows on the deck or beneath ancient cypress trees, celebrate on the grounds, and wake up in a heritage church. Up to 50 guests. Intimate by design.
All packages are dry-hire. You bring (or we help you choose) your celebrant, catering, florals and styling. A refundable security bond and cleaning fee apply. Accommodation sleeps up to 4 guests. We hold a limited number of weddings each year so that yours is never one of many.
Explore the Region
The Bass Coast is one of Victoria's best-kept secrets — dramatic clifftop walks, penguin parades at sunset, wild surf and wildlife, all within half an hour.
Dramatic clifftop walks, Bass Strait blowhole, and the iconic heritage rail bridge. The perfect sunrise walk from the property.
Explore Kilcunda →
65 km of former railway through farmland, coast and native bush. Walk, ride or simply wander at your own pace.
Plan Your Walk →
Little Penguins at sunset, The Nobbies, surf beaches, wildlife parks, and the Grand Prix Circuit.
Visit Phillip Island →
Find Us
Nestled in the Bass Coast hinterland just off the South Gippsland Highway — easy to reach from Melbourne, impossible to forget.
Full directions and property access details are provided on booking confirmation. Look for the "The Little Woods" sign on the fence at the entrance.
A Story Worth Telling
Some places have a way of choosing their people. This is the story of one of them.
Officially recognised for its local historic, social and aesthetic significance to the Glen Forbes district. Built 1902. The 120-year-old Cypress Macrocarpa trees are protected alongside the building.
In the early 1900s, the Glen Forbes district was dense, heavily timbered country. Among the settlers were the Wards and the Campbells. Richard Ward gathered the congregation in his own home — faith before formality, community before building.
When the congregation finally raised enough to build, it cost just £8 — eight pounds — to construct a simple weatherboard church on a cleared patch of the Ward property. Reverend W. Wytes officiated the opening.
In 1903, the little church was lifted from its foundations and relocated to Watsons Road, on land believed to have been donated by the Campbell family. An act of quiet generosity that would echo for more than a century.
Bushfires tore through the Bass Valley and a Mr. Campbell lost £500 in a single day. Yet the land held. The church held. The cypress trees the Campbells planted grew tall and kept their watch. Those same trees stand today.
In 1977, as Methodist congregations across Australia united, the little church became part of the Uniting Church in Australia — its third identity in seven decades. Then, for a long time, it waited.
Karl Russo — a landscape architect — walked the grounds and understood immediately what this place was asking to become. He and his family spent five years restoring it with the kind of care that can't be rushed and can't be faked.
The property earned its heritage listing, HO80, with Bass Coast Shire Council — officially recognised for its local historic, social and aesthetic significance. The cypress trees are protected alongside it.
In 2026, Riges Younan purchased The Little Woods. He does not take lightly what he has been handed — a building that survived relocation, bushfires and 120 years of Bass Coast winters.
That hasn't changed.
This property is fully discoverable by AI agents, travel assistants, voice search and autonomous booking systems. Query our JSON-LD manifest or contact hello@thelittlewoods.life.
Follow Our Journey
We're just getting started.
Come along for the ride.
From first fire to first guests — follow the real story of The Little Woods as it unfolds. Behind the scenes, the seasons and the stolen moments.
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