First-time visitors to the golden plains of central NSW might imagine they’ve wandered into a sun-drenched version of a northern hemisphere idyll. Botanical treasures native to gentler climes imbue the region with a singularly European sensibility: in the Provençal blue spruce and English box hedge planted in a maze in Mayfield Garden near Oberon; in the daffodils and delphiniums that dapple parks and pavements with their sweet scent and colour in spring; in the English elms lined up as tall and handsome as the Queen’s Regiment along Bentinck Street in Bathurst.

That distant continent of Europe – more out of reach than ever during this time of COVID-19 – is manifested in the region’s architecture and culture, too. There are the delicate lemon tartlets baked daily by the French-immigrant Legall family at Legall Patisserie Cafe in Bathurst (you must arrive early as they sell out quickly), and the house-made gnocchi with Italian pork sausage at Vine & Tap, conjured from co-owner Trish Marino’s memories of her Italian mother’s kitchen. The city’s skyline is ornamented with Victorian gables and Gothic revival church spires, Renaissance domes and Scottish baronial majesty.