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| The Big Cherries, Young, NSW |
Not all towns can boast that they have a set of Big Cherries. Young in New South Wales can lay this claim to fame and they are hard to miss! The Big Cherries were relocated a few years ago and now mark the spot where the Young Visitors Centre is located within the old Young Railway Station. The Big Cherries give visitors a not-so-subtle hint that Young is all about cherries – there is even an annual festival held each December celebrating the fruit. (The 2011 Cherry Festival will be held from the second to the fourth of December.) As you head into Young, cherry orchards dot the undulating hills and there are roadside stalls where you can pick up a box of fruit at a reasonable price throughout the cherry season (starting around November each year). Young is a fairly quiet little town but the cherry season sees the population get a boost from the tenacious cherry pickers who swarm on the town and set up tent cities which swelter through the hot dry Young summers.
If you do visit Young in the summer, several orchards offer you the option to pick your own cherries – if you try this, be prepared to sweat a bit! You could take the opportunity to practice your cherry pit-spitting for the Cherry Festival competition while you pick your bounty. Other stone fruits including plums and peaches should also be ripe for the taking throughout summer and there are strawberries and apples available seasonally too.
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| Roadside cherry stall, Young, NSW |
In addition to the cherries, Young fights out the ‘Tidy Towns’ competition with gusto each year. The town has seen some successful projects and the most obvious example is the facelift which the Young Town Hall was given. This project didn’t take out a tidy towns honour but the Town Hall which dominates the streetscape is all the better for it. For the architecture buffs, there are some beautiful buildings scattered around Young dating back to the 1800s. There are plaques outlining the history of many of these historic buildings throughout the town so put your walking shoes on and see what you can discover! There is also a museum on Campbell Street and right opposite this, you can see the place where the Riot Act was read during the gold rush.
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| The new-look Young Town Hall |
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| Historic Young Court House |
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| Site of the reading of the Riot Act, Young, NSW |
Another must do if you are in the Young region is try some wine from the Hilltops region. The Hilltops region wineries produce cool-climate wines including Semillon, Chardonnay and Shiraz. The Young Visitor Centre now has a cellar door offering many of the local Hilltops wines as well as other produce from the area. In addition the Young Visitor Centre has souvenirs and also houses the Burrangong Art Gallery featuring paintings and photographs from local artists.
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| Young Visitor Centre |
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| Cellar door - Young Visitor Centre |
Young is located on the south west slopes of New South Wales and has caravan parks, motels and a variety of shops and restaurants as well as some B&B and farm stay options a little further out of town. Seasonal temperatures are extreme so rug up in winter and pack light in summer.
Next time you find yourself craving cherries, cherry pie, cherry wine, cherry liquor, Big Cherries or even a spot of gold panning, why not make the trip to Young – you might be pleasantly surprised!
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| Young Visitor Centre |
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