EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

GLEN INNES is a pleasant town in a beautiful setting. Although agriculture is still important up here, you begin to see more and more evidence of the gemfields - sapphires are big business, as, to a lesser extent, is tin mining. In the centre, on Grey Street especially, numerous century-old public buildings and parks have been renovated and spruced up. There's some fine country architecture including a couple of large corner pubs, their verandahs decorated with iron lace. The Land of the Beardies History House (Mon-Fri 10am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm; $4), in the town's first hospital on Ferguson Street, displays pioneer relics, period room settings and a reconstructed slab hut. The name alludes to the two hairy men who settled the area in the nineteenth century, and it's a title the town's proud of, along with the Scottish connections reflected in the name of the town itself and in many of its streets, which are rendered in both English and Gaelic. The local granite Australian Standing Stones at Martins Lookout, Watsons Drive, are based on the Ring of Brodgar in Scotland, and are intended to honour the "contribution of the Celtic races to Australia's development"; there's a great picnic and barbecue area with granite seats and tables, echoing the stones themselves. The strongly Celtic nature of Glen Innes is counterbalanced by the town's department store, Kwong Sing & Co, which has been run by the same family of Chinese origin since 1886. While you're in the area, you might also consider a horseback pub crawl with Great Aussie Pub Crawls on Horseback (tel 02/6732 1599, www.northnet.com.au/~pubcrawl ); despite the name, this is really a six-day trekking adventure with overnight stops at traditional Aussie pubs, and no drinking is permitted during the five to six hours of riding each day.

In early November, Glen Innes celebrates the Land of the Beardies Bushfestival , with everything from a beard-growing contest and shopping-trolley derby to dances, street parades and arts-and-crafts exhibits. More details, including help with rooms, are available from the Glen Innes & District Visitors Centre , 52 Church St, as the New England Highway is called when it passes through town (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-3pm; tel 02/6732 2397, www.gleninnestourism.com ); there's a café, The Celtic Kitchen , in the centre serving soda bread and snacks, and the bus terminal is also attached. Good accommodation options include the air-conditioned Central Motel , Meade Street, opposite the post office (tel 02/6732 2200, fax 6732 1624; $50-70); the fancier (though not air-con) Rest Point Motel on Church Street, 1km south of the centre (tel 02/6732 2255; $70-90), with a swimming pool and extensive landscaped grounds; and the well-equipped Poplar Caravan Park , 15 Church St (tel 02/6732 1514; cabins $35-50, on-site vans $20-35). For a homely semi-splurge try Diarmid's B&B at 15 Torrington St (tel 02/6732 5701, www.atn.com.au/diarmids ; $70-115) - a lovely guesthouse with a log fire in the guest lounge and bedrooms decorated in old Scottish and Irish style. Fresh flowers abound, and included in the price are a high tea - with shortbread, apple cake and home-made preserves - and a tour of the Australian standing stones. For sustenance in the town, try the Tea and Coffee Shop on Grey Street, a cosy tearoom with loads of choice including Dutch pancakes, an array of interesting sandwiches, savoury croissants and hot breakfasts. If it's all getting a bit too olde worlde for you, Grey Street's Cafe Heritage is a modern brasserie with a menu to match, or the One Eighty Nine Coffee Lounge , at 189 Grey St, has an even more down-to-earth menu, designed to cure even the worst hangover. The best Chinese restaurant is Dragon Court , at 173 Grey St.