Glen Innes Overview

Glen Innes (pop. 10,000) is a standard town with a historic twist. Giant standing stones and an annual Celtic festival hark back to the ancient past, while mining activities and a pioneer museum celebrate Australia’s beginnings.

Transportation. Countrylink (☎13 22 32) has bus service to Sydney (9hr., 1 per day, $98), as well as direct service to nearby towns. The Countrylink station is next to the visitors center, where bookings can be made for a $5 fee. Greyhound Australia (☎13 14 99 or 13 20 30) sends buses to Brisbane (6hr.; 2 per day; $88, students $80); Sydney (11hr., 1 per day, $113/103); Tamworth (3hr., 1 per day, $71/64); and other small regional centers. Contact individual bus companies for details about local service. Greyhound stops at the 24hr. Caltex station on the New England Hwy. Call taxis at ☎02 6732 1300.

Orientation And Practical Information. The main commercial street in town is Grey St., parallel to and one block west of the New England Highway (called Church Street in town), which runs north 93km to Tenterfield and south 95km to Armidale. The Gwydir Highway, known in town as Meade Street and Ferguson Street, runs east-west. The Glen Innes Visitors Centre, 152 Church St., is near the intersection of the New England and Gwydir Hwy. (☎02 6730 2400; www.gleninnestourism.com.au. Open M-F 9am-5pm, Sa-Su and public holidays 9am-3pm.) Grey St. is home to several banks with ATMs, supermarkets, pubstays, basic eateries, and a library with free Internet access. (☎02 6732 2302. Open M and F 10am-5pm, Tu-Th 8:30am-5pm, Sa 9:30am-noon.)

Accommodations And Food. Cheap rooms are available at the pubs   , on Bullock Mountain Rd., 15km north of Glen Innes toward Emmaville, is a horse ranch with B&B-style accommodations and meals. (☎02 6732 1599; www.bullockmountainhomestead.com. Can arrange free pickup from bus stop. Sites $10 per adult, powered $12. Caravans $40. B&B rooms $95.) The Homestead also runs a variety of splurge-worthy horseback rides, including the popular horseback pub crawl. (Weekend $395, 4-day trip $1490; meals and accommodation included. Book ahead. AmEx/MC/V.) Next door, the Three Waters High Country Holiday Park offers 1200 acres of secluded countryside perfect for camping, riding, and fossicking. Unpowered campsites line the river, and access to the new recreation center, showers, toilets, laundry, and gas BBQ is available. Free accommodation and meals are also possible for backpackers willing to do a bit of work around the property. Be sure to ask the owner Steven for some of his stories. (☎02 6732 4863; www.gleninnes.com/3waters. Fossicking $8, horseback riding $35 per hr. Sites $15 for 1, $20 for 2; cabins $65. Cash only.)

For good eats, try Crofters Cottage , at Centennial Parklands next to the Standing Stones. Crofters serves gourmet main dishes ($9-13) and terrific toasted sandwiches. (☎02 6732 6516. Open M-W and F 10am-5pm, Th 9:30am-4pm. MC/V.) The local pubs, including the Great Central Hotel , at 173 Grey St., for the $9 smorgasbord lunch special from noon-2:30pm (☎02 6732 1368. Also open for dinner 5:30-8pm).

Sights And Festivals. Glen Innes celebrates its Celtic heritage every first weekend in May with the three-day Australian Celtic Festival (☎02 6730 2400, or call the visitors center; www.australiancelticfestival.com.) Many of the festivities are set in the shadow of the Standing Stones, a series of massive granite blocks in the tradition of an ancient Celtic form of timekeeping, erected on Martins Lookout, 1km east of the visitors center on Meade St. (Gwydir Hwy.) Every conceivable piece of pioneer equipment, from 150 types of barbed wire to an entire 19th-century slab cottage, can be found at the “Land of the Beardies” History House Museum, in the historic hospital building on the corner of West Ave. and Ferguson St. (☎02 6732 1035. Open M-F 10am-noon and 1-4pm, Sa-Su 1-4pm. $6, students and children $1, seniors $4.) Fossicking, or panning for sapphires, and fishing are both very popular; there are many opportunities to do both in and around Glen Innes. Glen Rest Tourist Park , 9807 New England Hwy, 3.5km south of the town center, offers $10 fossicking (☎02 6732 2413). Reddeston Sapphires, next door to the info center, will cut your sapphire for $25 per carat while you wait. (☎02 6732 5173; www.reddestone.com. Open daily 8:30am-5pm.) Equine Ability offers first-rate lessons in horsebreaking and training. Call to book. (☎02 6732 5295; www.equineability.com.au.)