York

York was settled in 1831, two years after the Swan River Colony itself, making it the oldest inland town in Western Australia, and the wheat and wool money of the nineteenth century built a main street that survives largely intact: the town hall of 1911, the Castle Hotel, the courthouse complex, banks and shopfronts in stone and brick with iron verandahs, the whole street classified by the National Trust. The Residency Museum and the courthouse complex, which includes cells and a gaol, are open to visitors. Mount Brown above town gives a view over the Avon Valley, and the river runs through with a suspension bridge and parkland alongside.

What you actually see

• The main street - a classified streetscape of 1850s to 1900s buildings.
• The courthouse complex - court, police station and cells open as a museum.
• The town hall - the 1911 building at the street's centre.
• Mount Brown - the lookout over the Avon Valley above town.

When to go

April to November; the wheatbelt is very hot from December to March. Wildflowers appear in the surrounding country from August to October. The York Motorcycle Festival and jazz festival fill particular weekends.

Honest expectations

The town is small and quiet, and midweek many businesses are shut. Museums keep limited hours. Summer heat is severe and the valley offers little shade. It is an hour and a half from Perth on a road busy with trucks.

Nearby

Northam lies north; the Avon Valley and Toodyay are close.