Berrima

When I hear the word “berry”, I’d probably go running to pick one, given my inherent love for everything ending with the word “berry”. And when we discovered Berrima, a small town with a rich history, skirting the outskirts of NSW, we knew we had to go, especially to show our visiting family friends the inherent beauty contained within glittering, glamorous Sydney.

Given my tendency to become hungry every hour, the first thing we did was feast at this quaint café(the cafés are a must visit if you visit Berrima), and it was absolutely delicious. The dessert was the stuff of my dreams, and it’s always been the most important part of a meal for me😉(despite my best efforts to eat healthy). We were ravenous, and the food was gourmet, so that was the perfect fit. I can’t even describe it in words, except that it tasted heavenly.

Next up, after filling our bellies and finally dragging ourselves out, we walked along the quaint streets in the vicinity, originally planned to be one of Sydney’s main centres of settlement, when the state was still flourishing. It was designed as a typical English village, and established in 1831, it’s one of the last few examples of an existing and largely preserved Australian Georgian colony.

A sense of peace and tranquillity encompassed this town, with flowered shrubs and green, green trees dotting the streets. It was hard to believe anyone lived here. Even in the light of the day, it was the perfect, picturesque idea of the “sleepy little town” mentioned in mystery novels. Everyone smiled, and there was a general sense of happiness, so different from the bustling places I had lived in my whole life.

Then, we visited the courthouse and gaol, where we met extremely white-haired judges and experienced a re-enaction of the only court case in which a woman was ever hanged(but that’s probably because she murdered her husband). It was an extremely interesting and enlightening experience, and we got to see how the jury and court doled out judgements back in the day(in my mum’s words), and how they were far, far more stringent, and final. We even viewed a makeshift model of a jail, and nearly screamed when I beheld the gaunt doll seated inside.

Finally, my favourite part, involving actual berries arrived. We chanced on a store that sold original, freshly made jam, honey, marmalade, and a wide variety of other products. We picked out so many flavours to bring home(they are incredibly delicious. I would highly recommend purchasing jam from here). There were racks and racks, with the strangest, most otherworldly flavours. The name of the place is ‘Mrs Oldbucks Pantry’.

Ever heard of vanilla bean and orange jam?

In my list of places to visit, this is definitely somewhere I would go again. There are actually loads of activities to experience, and a weekend trip would be best. The drive to the city is beautiful and offers plenty of photography opportunities.

Here are a few of the many pictures (many, MANY, to the point I nearly cried. I had a lot of memory clearing to do, and still HAVE a lot to do):