| If
you are heading west go the wild route and forget the traffic lights, shops
and tedium of suburbia. There are two roads over the mountains leading
to the western plains of New South Wales. There's the aforementioned traffic light
nightmare or the Bells Line of Road (the northern road) through ...BILPIN .. -where
you'll travel through a diversity of mountain scenery with great walls of sandstone
and endless canyons, combined with charming orchards and fruit and vege stalls
offering all local varieties of stone fruit in season and autumn apples. Visit
local artisans in metalwork, ceramics, art, opals, wonderful dried flowers (combined
with Russian antiques!) and woodwork, combined with numerous charming coffee stops
all featuring home made apple pies, jams, local honey and our proudly made Bilpin
Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar.
There's stacks of quality accommodation - from self-cater cabins through to completely
serviced in-the-home bed and breakfast. There's half a dozen wedding venues and
a bus to transport guests to and from their function to their beds. Visit the
cold climate Mt.Tomah Botanic Garden and enjoy lunch on the deck and Mt Wilson
and Mt Irvine for world renowned private, open gardens. See the real Australia
with people working their orchards and walking their wilderness.
Come to BILPIN and
enjoy a mountain climate along with spectacular scenery and quality, honest produce.
HISTORY
 The
first journey along what is now Bells Line of Road was first undertaken by Archibald
Bell in 1823(Sensibly he used the knowledge of the local Aborigines who had been
crossing the mountains for tens of thousands of years. Although the mountains
has been crossed at Katoomba a decade earlier, there was still no satisfactory
route through the mountains from Richmond at this time.
In
his diary Archibald Bell recalls that, upon his return to Sydney, he reported
the richness of the soil in the Bilpin area which inevitably led to the arrival
of settlers eager to grow fruit trees in the area.
In
1851 gold was found near Bathurst and Bells Line of Road became a 'human foot-plodders'
road towards chancy fortune'. In 1831 the population along Bells Line of Road
numbered twelve or thirteen families - a far cry from today.
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