Our morning started with a drive out to the nearby town of Carcoar. Carcoar is the reason we were staying in Blayney (well may be my reason). The town is an historic gem and the whole town has been classified by the National Trust because of the large number of well-preserved mid-to–late Victorian buildings. We had a map and set off exploring. When we reached the school we saw a large group of young people working as if it was a working bee. Once again we were very lucky and a short distance down the street met a lovely couple who live in Carcoar and run many of the historical activities. They retired to Carcoar in the early 2000’s. The man was happy to open the old courthouse so we could have a look inside and there we learnt that the young people we had seen, were from Sydney University and had come to the town for the weekend to assist with any jobs that the town needed to be done. It is a scheme set up by the NSW government and it seems a great idea. Young people volunteer their time to help and are provide with transport, food and accommodation in whichever town they are working. We noticed that the majority of the students appeared to be overseas students. A great way to see more of the country. We also learnt that Carcoar was first settled in 1821 and soon the government realised it needed an administration centre west of Bathurst and Carcoar was chosen. We enjoyed our walk and met up with the couple again at the convict-built stables of Stoke House which was the town’s museum. Once again, they opened the building for us. Lovely walk and lovely people. The town has been used many times as a setting for films due to the buildings. We returned to Blayney and Rob decided that he would play 9 holes of golf while I explored more of Blayney (look-out and cemetery). Rob joined up with two nice young men and after a couple of hours called me to come and pick him up, from the golf course. We decided to do some more exploring as only a short drive away was another historical town of Millthorpe. The young men who had played golf with Rob were heading there for a drink at the pub and so we drove there, parked the car and he headed for the pub while I went exploring. Another wonderful little town with beautiful buildings and probably a little more up-market than Carcoar with beautiful bespoke craft shops, swanky restaurants and various wine tasting establishments. A funny thing happened on the walk when I saw a hen (well chicken) walking down the main street and crossing the road! I finished my walk and went to the pub where I met back up with Rob and Will, Matt and Tom. Two of these young men had played golf with Rob and the other had wanted to but he’d been on baby-sitting duties and he was at the pub with the baby. (Very cute) I stopped for a drink and had a very pleasant time talking to these young men. We were both very impressed as they seemed so relaxed and friendly and interested in the “old people”. Rob had a few beers so I drove the short distance back to Blayney. A great day.
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