NSW: New England

"Are we in Australia or Scotland?"

With Names like Loch Lomond and Glen Innis You Would be Forgiven For Asking

The New England Highway actually starts in Queensland at Blackbutt and follows the Great Dividing Range all the way to Muswellbrook where it then veers towards the coast and Newcastle.

Along this stretch of road and some of the spectacular side-roads that follow the original route taken by the long-unused railway line is found history and architecture from a time long before the modern highway. In Armidale the old Teachers College building, recently used by the University of New England as a music campus, is typical of the sandstone buildings boasting tall sandstone pillars the Egyptians would have been proud of! And inside the sound of a grand piano would make Bachs heart skip a beat! Many of the old railway siding buildings have been kept for posterity and in Spring and Autumn the range comes to like, first with the new green growth and wonderful wildflowers and from late March to early May a spectacular array of autumn leaves reminiscent for many of Europe, a reminder of why it is called the New England.

There are plenty of places to stay and vegetate while Gyra is the highest town along the Great Dividing Range.