Bell's Line of Road

Access to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, is possible by two roads. The Great Western Highway is the main one and the Bells Line of Road is the alternative route. Bell's Line of Road takes you through pristine and wild wilderness.

The Bell's Line of Road continues to wind through picturesque orchards, under-developed, quaint localities and on through the pristine World Heritage Area. It remains an excellent route for tourists to enter the Blue Mountains. You leave suburbia behind as you pass over the Nepean River at North Richmond. The road becomes flanked by rolling, green hills and rural properties. Up Bell Bird Hill (known for the tinkling of these tiny birds) to Kurrajong Heights and spectacular views over the Sydney area. Further westward, you enter the Bilpin and Berambing districts famous for apple and stone-fruit orchards ... fresh fruit available direct from the grower's roadside stalls.

Mt Tomah rises abruptly and is capped with ancient basalt, rainforest and is home to Australia's cool climate Botanic Gardens. Call in and see the prehistoric Wollemi Pine, a relic of the forests that covered this area 150 million years ago.West of Mt Tomah, the road enters the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, following a narrow ridge along the edge of the rugged gorges of the Grose Valley. There are numerous sites to stop and view the surrounding beauty. The historic villages of Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine are on a side road, well worth a detour for garden lovers.