Sweet Wayfaring

Former Royal Hotel, Marulen Ending another drought of sorts I have found a new Royal Hotel at last.  This one is at Marulen which is a small town bypassed by the Federal Highway to Canberra. It looks a little sad, waiting for someone to buy it and restore it to life.  Looking through the windows the inside is worse.  Deep pockets will be needed. I recently received the photos of the Royals at Cudal and Canowindra from Gordon at LookANDsee  but I had already beaten him to them (just as Julie beat me to the one at Bungendore).  So I've decided that if you do double up I will acknowledge you with an also spotted by attribution. Wondering what's happened to City Daily Photo and the next theme day?  Go to http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/

Royal Hotel, Cassilis That was a detour worth taking.  Anew Royal Hotel to add to the collection.

We spent the day doing the normal things, trawling bookshops and antique shops, eating and keeping and eye out for new Royal Hotels to add to the collection.

It soon became apparent that there is not a lot to do in Dunedoo and the train was not going back until the end of the day.  So we did the museum, had a sausage sizzle at the Lion's tent, visited the antique store, had scones for afternoon tea -- when there is nothing to do why not eat?  But it was all worth it, after all I found a new Royal Hotel to add to the Royal Collection.

One I missed at Narromine on the way up and found on the way back.

Slidehow of my morning walk in Burra. We visited Burra on the recommendation of my niece.  It is an old copper mining town with beautifully preserved buildings and is now a well functioning service centre for the surrounding farming communities.  It was a pretty place for an early morning walk and home to the only other Royal hotel I found in South Australia (a royalish one.)

Royal Victoria Hotel, Beltana now a private residence South Australia doesn’t seem to have Royal Hotels like those found in nearly every town in New South Wales so I didn’t add many to my collection.  This was one of just two Royalish hotels I found.

Old Royal Hotel, Corner of Oxide and Mica Streets, Broken Hill There are plenty of pubs in this town.  I'm told a mere 20 pubs and 5 clubs down from 47 pubs and 15 clubs when the mine had 7000 employees rather than the 700 today. I found three Royalish ones.   Rather quaintly, many of the streets have names of minerals and chemicals associated with mining – names like Oxide, Silver, Argent, Chloride, Iodide, Sulphide, Mica, Mercury, Tin and Calcite. 

Royal Hotel, Trangie Manouvering through a country town our new passenger squarks “go through the roundabout and take the second exit”.  Taking no heed, we turn left and right looking for the Royal Hotel. (Regular readers will know I collect R oyal Hotels as a way of exploring country towns). The small town of Trangie delivered our first for the trip.  

We had been driving all day and I didn't see one new Royal Hotel ... we saw them at Sofala , Hill End , Capertee and Cullen Bullen but I've already recorded those. We did however see this one outside Lithgow which I have passed many times but just not got around to putting in the blog. That's it for this trip. Next we are coming back to Lithgow for a very different series, one I am quite excited about as it had great photo opportunities which I gathered over a number of weekends. However I am going to slow down to posting just 3 days per week alternating with Blue Mountains Journal. It will give me a little breathing time to do things other than blogging.

We took one last detour into the tiny town of Woodstock. I loved this little place which encapsulates everything I found so endearing in the dozens of small towns we have passed through on this trip. A bank with residence atop and a sturdy brick Post Office. Shops, some empty and some going strong. Remnant signage from bygone times Impressive buildings that have seen better days One for the men and one for the ladies, a soldiers memorial and a CWA (Country Womens Association), An Anglican church with a bell and Catholics up the street as well. A railway station with a level crossing. But best of all a Royal Hotel.

Royal Hotel Caragabul We had a rest day at Swan Hill, so this is the perfect day to show you the Royal Hotels I collected throughout the trip. A big boost to my collection . I don't do any advance research to know if there is going to be Royal Hotel in the town. It's such a good reason to explore every country town we pass through. Many had wonderful colonial hotels and the Royal turned out to the rattiest run-down pub down the bottom end of the main street but I decided to stay true to my mission and not be lured by the Imperial, Crown, Commercial, Railway and Bridge hotels which also frequented these towns. Royal Hotel Boorawa Royal Mail Hotel Jerilderie Royal Hotel Berrigan Royal Hotel Kerang Royal Hotel Wentwort h Royal Hotel Euston Royal Hotel Temora Royal Hotel West Wyalong Royal Hotel Grenfell Royal Hotel Blayney

The normal road was blocked, I think fires had been sparked by lightening overnight. So we had to take a detour through Wallerawang where to my delight I found a new Royal hotel. A great start for a day where I expected to see quite a few of my favourite things. For those who are new to the blog, here's my Royal Collection . Temperature 34C

Hey this is another Royal Hotel to add to my collection .

I couldn't resist the opportunity to add to my Royal Collection . This one is in Oberon. Brrr it was cold. By they way I found a website that lists about 70 Royal Hotels in New South Wales, I have only got 13 so far, quite a way left to go.

Royal Hotel Canowindra We swung back east from Parkes to the town of Canowindra. True to form, most of the towns we visited have a Royal Hotel, allowing me to add extensively to my royal collection. I still haven't figured out the reason behind the large number of Royals. I thought for a while it might have been something to do with them being Royal Mail Coach stops ... but the architecture shows them being built over such a wide spread of years that seems unlikely. Royal Hotel Parkes Royal Hotel Orange Royal Hotel Manildra Royal Hotel Cumnock Royal Hotel Cudal

Royal Hotel Capetee Why does nearly every town have a Royal Hotel? Here are four from my recent soujourns ... and I have already shown two more in this blog. And I missed photographing the one in Blayney! I'm wondering if collecting pictures of Royal Hotels is wierd like train spotting Royal Hotel Carcoar Royal Hotel Mandurama Royal Hotel Cullen Bullen

We took a drive to Yoeval, for no particular reason other than to see what was there. We found a small historic town with all the things you would expect -- shops, schools, churches, masonic temple, RSL club, vet and ag supplies, football field, picnic spot by the creek, no doubt a CWA branch somewhere and of course a Royal Hotel. I'm sorry to say this, because the good citizens of Yoeval are obviously very proud, but I don't like this town, it has somehow tidied itself up too much.

Not all of the buildings in Sofala are falling apart. The hotel is still going strong. Photo: Sofala Royal Hotel Musing: Friday Night at the Royal Station Hotel by Phillip Larkin "Light spreads darkly downwards from the high Clusters of lights over empty chairs That face each other, coloured differently. Through open doors, the dining-room declares A larger loneliness of knives and glass And silence laid like carpet. A porter reads An unsold evening paper. Hours pass, And all the salesmen have gone back to Leeds, Leaving full ashtrays in the Conference Room. In shoeless corridors, the lights burn. How Isolated, like a fort, it is - The headed paper, made for writing home (If home existed) letters of exile: Now Night comes on. Waves fold behind villages. "