There is a general orientation in this region towards the historical, the gentrified and the English. Glen Innes provides a "Heritage Park" for its van visitors, which features a huge Celtic Stonehenge type structure at the entrance and lovely big beech trees to camp under.
At Heritage Park we saw the most humongous rig we have encountered anywhere so far on our trip. Worth a photo, it was called "The Rat's Nest" and comprised a full size bus kitted out for camping, which was pulling a trailer large enough to contain a huge generator plus the 4WD parked nearby. The wife, a large blonde woman in tight shorts, spotted me trimming David's beard and called out: Don't make him too beautiful, he might leave ya!
We felt a beard trim was in order because today was the day for visiting elegant and intellectual Armidale. Also, we were parked next to one Beardy Creek, so clearly that was the place.
En route to Armidale we passed through Guyra and simply had to visit the wonderfully named Mother of Ducks Lagoon for a spot of birdwatching.
It was full of water and exploding with greenery and flowers, but not many feathered friends. Apparently in bumper seasons, they disperse widely. Certainly every dam seems to have a few ducks and moorhens.
The main street in Armidale is Beardy Street. Seriously, it was named after two early settlers who were, well, beardy. There is also a Beardy Mall. But evidently, no fun is allowed at Beardy Mall, the list of banned activities is very extensive.
Historical note: Armidale was named after Armadale, a town in my forbears' ancestral home of the Isle of Skye. Armidale was smaller and less leafy than I expected, but we enjoyed our self-guided historical cycle tour. Saw lots of interesting old buildings dating from the boom times of the late 19th century. Here are some of the most photogenic, and a link to a good article for the historically inclined: http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Armidale/2005/02/17/1108500192597.html
This is the State Bank building, 1887. Elegant and beautifully proportioned.
This is St Mary's and St Joseph's Catholic Cathedral, 1912, a fine example of Gothic Revival style.
We went inside and it had all the trimmings: stained glass, lots of statues, paintings, a mosaic floor and even this strange little side chapel, featuring a not very tasteful back-lit reproduction of the Shroud of Turin!
Just across the street is the much more architecturally worthy St Peter's Anglican Cathedral, from 1873. But the Anglicans were less trusting than the Catholics towards heathen tourists like us. It was all locked up. On a Sunday!
This is the Town Hall, 1883. Our printed guide said, rather sniffily, that its style was "common in public buildings of the time".
This is The Imperial Hotel from 1890, an attractive building but a bit of a pastiche, with Grecian vases stuck on triangular Roman pediments laid on Norman arches above Victorian iron lace, as if the architect has tried to include "all that nice olden days stuff". Or perhaps it was intended to be a bit of fun...
After our tour we cycled back up Armidale's long, long North Hill, arriving at the van park hot, bothered and ready for a nanna nap. Some of our readers have been unkind enough as to enquire whether we are on a road trip or an extended meal, and it's fair to say we are both getting more rounded due to having a duty to sample the local culinary specialities, so once we are in Forster it will have to be back to a bit of self-discipline. Mind you, being slim is no guarantee of health. My ex has just been admitted to hospital after a heart attack and is due to have triple bypass surgery on Friday.
Here is a lovely scene to calm your mind. David says a phrase kept coming up for him on this road trip through New England : "And sheep may safely graze" It is from a choral piece by JSBach that he learned once. Here is a link to a lovely version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbTGUurbGTk&feature=related And this is a photo snapped from the car.
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