Glen Innes lies in the northern part of New England, NSW. Another town founded by Scottish settlers, it offers the charm of a historic country town typical of this part of the Australian countryside mixed with strong Celtic elements.

Beyond the town itself, there isn’t much to draw the tourist to Glenn Innes. About 12km outside of town there are the Australian Standing Stones. This area is a modern day version of the stone circles well known in Britain and Europe. If you wish to understand the circles without travelling to the other hemisphere, then they are well worth a visit. When we visited, there were pamphlets available that explained how the stones were aligned to celebrate the two solstices.

If you visit Glen Innes, be sure to walk down the main street. There are elements of a traditional country town here with the wide awnings providing shade for shoppers. The centre of the street is taken up with parking, a solution common to many towns.

Glen Innes has had a long history of settlement and you can see buildings dating back to the mid 1800s. As always the two classes of buildings that are the most magnificent are the bank buildings and the hotels. The banks tended to build fancy to demonstrate their wealth and so their reliability with other peoples money. The hotels are adorned with big verandas, covered in a lacework of wrought iron.

Glen Innes has a strong Celtic tradition and through the main street you can see intentional Celtic elements of knot work and symbolism. The tradition goes beyond the visual. When we were there we heard traditional Celtic music wafting from one hotel and were serenaded with Mull of Kintyre from the Coles, itself located in a historic building.

Special note should be taken of the murals on the side of Coles picked out in mosaics and rusted steel cut outs.

Glenn Innes is well worth a visit to either stock up on supplies or to experience a traditional Australian-Celtic town. When visiting you should go the extra 12km and visit the Australian Standing Stones.