Tamworth (New South Wales)

Tamworth (population 43,000 in 2018) is a city in the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. Tamworth is nationally famous as the "Country Music Capital of Australia", annually hosting the Tamworth Country Music Festival in late January.

Understand
The city is recognised as the "National Equine Capital of Australia" because of the high volume of equine events held in the city and the construction of the world class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC). The city additionally is known as the "City of Lights", being the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to utilise electric street lights.

Tamworth itself is a well developed and confident regional centre. It has a great location by the side of the Peel River, that has playgrounds, coffee shops and parks. Peel Street is the main shopping strip, running parallel to the river.

Get in
You can fly, drive yourself, catch a train from Sydney or Armidale, and catch a connecting coach in from a few surrounding towns. The days of coaches plying the inland route between Sydney and Brisbane are gone, with all such services now travelling the coastal Pacific Highway route to Brisbane.

By car
The New England Highway (A15) runs inland between Newcastle and Brisbane via Tamworth. The road is mainly good quality, single carriageway - with regular overtaking lanes.

It will take around 5 hours to drive from Sydney - with no breaks. Effectively a full day's drive. There are a variety of inland routes if you are coming from Melbourne, but by the time you pass Canberra, the quickest route will be via Sydney.

By train
NSW TrainLink trains connect Tamworth to Armidale and Sydney daily. A connecting bus travels along the old branch line to Inverell before each train departure and after each arrival. Tickets must be booked before boarding.

Peel Street is less than 5 minutes walk downhill from the station.

By plane
The airport is around 10 km from town. Too far to walk. There is cycleway nearly all the way to the terminal.

Get around
The main mall along Peel Street can be walked on foot in about twenty minutes. The nice parks between the mall and the Peel River have pedestrian and cycle paths running through them. For anywhere else in the city, a car is definitely recommended.

A couple of bus companies run services through Tamworth on weekdays and Saturday.

During the Country Music Festival in January there are special bus services which do various circuits of the city.

Buy
Akubra hats are a local specialty - this is the home of country music after all!

Tamworth is a great retail centre for the New England with 5 major shopping complexes, 3 down the main street.


 * Tamworth Shopping World: Anchored by Big W, Woolworths, The Regent Shop and Australia Post is a large shopping complex on Brisbane Street. It consists of 50 specialty shops, a fast food court and a multi-storey car park over 3 levels.
 * Tamworth City Plaza: Ancored by K-Mart and Coles, it is in the heart of the CBD. The centre includes 45 specialty shops, a fast food court, and undercover shaded parking.
 * Centrepoint Tamworth: Also in the heart of the CBD, across from Target department store, Centrepoint offers Franklins Supermarket, 6-cinema complex with a performing arts arena, child care centre, 40 specialty shops over 2 floors of shopping, fast food court, al fresco dining and a multi-storey car park over 3 levels.
 * Tamworth Arcade: A small arcade offering 20 specialty stores in the heart of the CBD.
 * Tamworth HomeSpace: A bulky goods centre in Tamworth's fastest growing estate. It is near Harvey Norman, and other bulky goods stores.

Eat

 * Hogsbreath, on Peel Street serves a range of foods.
 * Outback Jack's, near the Golden Guitar, Goonoo Goonoo Road. It is a steakhouse.
 * SSS BBQ Barns, Near the Golden Guitar, Great Atmosphere, Food and Service with a Smile.
 * SSS BBQ Barns, Near the Golden Guitar, Great Atmosphere, Food and Service with a Smile.

Drink

 * Imperial Hotel, Cnr Brisbane and Marius Street, known to the young people of the town as "The Impy", is the hub of Tamworth's night life.
 * Good companions, Brisbane Street, also known as "The Goodies". With its metro styling, it is one of the few local venues with a cocktail list.
 * Tamworth Hotel, Marius Street (opposite the train station). Grand country town hotel.  Known for its selection of beers, cigars and fine wine.
 * Central Hotel, Cnr Peel and Brisbane Street.
 * For a cheap drink visit one of the registered clubs, including Wests Diggers, West Tamworth League Club, the Services Club, or one of the sporting clubs.

Go next

 * Take the half-hour drive to Nundle. Go gold prospecting, buy wool at the mill, check-out the art gallery, search for antiques, or have lunch at the pub. There is also a craft co-op, an op-shop, general stores, an 1850s-type prospector's store, a restaurant and places to have coffee. There is a motel if you wish to stay-over. Take a different route back to Tamworth - either the sealed New England Highway or the back dirt road.
 * Armidale is an easy day trip.
 * Barraba is 90 km north of Tamworth on the Fossickers Way/B95.
 * Bundarra is 161 km north of Tamworth via New England Highway, Uralla, Thunderbolts Way.
 * Tingha is 196 km north of Tamworth via New England Highway, Guyra, Guyra Road.
 * Yetman is 275 km north of Tamworth via Manilla, Barraba, Bingara and Warialda (3 hr 7 min)
 * Boggabri is 115 km northwest of Tamworth via Oxley Highway, Gunnedah, Kamilaroi Highway (1 hr 34 min)
 * Bingara is 151 km north of Tamworth via Fossickers Way/B95, Manilla, Barraba (42 min)
 * Manilla is 46 km north of Tamworth via the Manilla Road/B95 (37 min)