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The university city of ARMIDALE , halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, is something of a rarity in Australia, where most universities are based in the state capitals. About four thousand students are enrolled at the University of New England , which, together with a couple of famous boarding schools, provides an unexpected academic aspect in a place so far "up country". Armidale is a city of some natural beauty, especially in autumn when, with its church spires and many parks, it is embedded in a sea of red and golden leaves. At around 1000m, the climate is unpredictable and can be decidedly brisk in winter.

Beardy Street, the town centre's pedestrian mall, is flanked by quaint Australian country pubs with wide, iron-lace verandahs, and is an excellent place to start exploring. On the last Sunday of the month the mall comes alive with a 150-stall market complete with buskers, and the mall's cafés open their doors. One of the best ways to get around town is by bike : there's a signposted city tour, as well as a bike path to the university campus , 5km northwest of the city, where there are two small specialized museums (both free), a kangaroo and deer park, and the historic Booloominbah homestead, built in the 1880s as a fashionable gentlemen's residence and now housing the principal administration office. Back in the city centre, the New England Regional Art Museum on Kentucky Street (daily 10.30am-5pm; free) is worth a visit for its two collections of Australian art. Foremost is the Hinton Collection, a group of paintings from the 1880s to the 1940s that includes works by Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. The Coventry Collection, focusing on the second half of the twentieth century, also has some important works, among them a wild self-portrait by Brett Whitely. Next door, the arresting modern building with the distinctive ochre-coloured tin roof is the Aboriginal-run Aboriginal Centre and Keeping Place (Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm; entrance fees vary), an educational, visual and performing arts centre that aims to foster the renewal and continuity of Aboriginal culture. Artefacts and interpretive material are on permanent display, and special exhibitions are shown. You might also want to visit the Armidale Folk Museum , at the corner of Rusden and Faulkner streets (daily 1-4pm; free), which has a collection of artefacts from the New England region and displays on local history, or take a two-hour free bus tour of the city with Heritage Trolley Tours (Mon-Fri 10am, Sat & Sun 10.30am, departing from the visitor information centre; free call tel 1800 627 736 to book).