Top 10 Things To Do With Kids In Blayney NSW

Who’s got a visit planned to Blayney in the NSW Central West? This town is just beyond Bathurst and close to the beautiful historic towns of Carcoar and Millthorpe.

Please welcome a couple of locals who are going to show us around.

Top 10 Things To Do With Kids In Blayney

By Margaret Paton and Neo Paton, Margaret is a writer, read more at her website Communications: Keeping It Real.

Table of Contents

Blayney Heritage Park Adventure Playground

Bet you weren’t expecting to find a ‘mouse house’ in Blayney. It’s a timber-lined cylinder that children can walk through. When you walk or run inside, it rotates – dizzying fun. Apparently, it was the first one installed in an Australian public park.

Other lures for the kids include shade cloth-covered extensive playground with swings, slides, sandpit, monkeybars and moor. Not under cover you’ll find a flying fox and decent-sized space net for climbing.

The park is on the corner of Adelaide Street (Mid Western Highway) between Stillingfleet and Martha streets.

It’s just a five-minute walk from the main Adelaide St shops, but don’t expect to find any eateries or cafes near the park. You can top up your bottle with filtered water, there are barbecues and covered picnic areas and accessible toilets.

The winding path is great for novice cyclists or those keen to get around on a skateboard or scooter and on the southern edge are a few berms for would-be BMX riders.

You’ll find a dog-friendly yard and nearby a (locked) wetlands area that attracts a good range of birdlife.

Watch this space, too, as Blayney Shire Council has approved plans to build a $250k skate park in the old maze section of the park, too. Just a small matter of raising the funds.

Blayney Farmers’ Markets

You’ll always find a free children’s activity at these markets, held on the third Sunday of month at Carrington Park (the Blayney Shire Community Centre is the wet-weather venue).

The Markets run from February to December and averages more than 30 stalls.

During the colder months, in the centre of the park, there’s even a lovely log fire (a grate protects wandering young fingers from getting too close) plus picnic benches adorned with spotty tablecloths and vases of flowers.

There’s range of fresh produce and value-added goods. Regular stallholders include Yesteryear Preserves (for your fruit and jam needs), Nellie Ryan’s Café (for scrumptious sweet treats) and Whisk & Pin (for warm savoury as well as sweet bakery items).

Carrington Park also has a small playground and quite a few smallish trees the local kids climb.

CentrePoint Sport & Leisure Centre

Year-round you’ll be able to swim indoors at the heated pool at Blayney’s CentrePoint Sport & Leisure Centre. There’s also a gym and fitness classes, but only for people aged 12 and over.

A separate group runs table tennis on Thursday nights there too and you can drop in (but will need to pay). You’ll get tips on how to hold the bat correctly, improve your hit and a chance to play with a range of players.

Kids and adults welcomed to drop in casually or become a regular for social games, team comps, prize nights and coaching. Do a trial visit from 6:20pm to 8:20pm any Thursday throughout the school year (usually). You’ll find the tables set up in the dry courts of CentrePoint. For more info, visit their Facebook page or email matthew.crane ‘at’ active8.net.au.

Opp shops

Vinnies and the Anglican Church run two opportunity shops in Adelaide Street (number 80 and 88 respectively. Open restricted hours only on weekdays, they’re worth the effort to check out.

Rivers end-of-season ladies’ shoes for $4 a pair, a steady stock of warm winter jumpers for a few dollars, even children’s roller blades for $2 are some of the bargains we’ve picked up.

You’re more likely to see ‘new’ items in the Vinnies’ store along with pre-loved children’s clothing and toys.

Kids eat free – Royal Hotel on Tuesday nights

At the time of writing this, kids eat free with at least one paying adult at the bustling Royal Hotel at 59 Adelaide St, Blayney.

Check out their latest specials on their Facebook page.

They have toys in a mini play area, two arcade games (pinball and a shooting game) and there’s a good chance your kids will meet new friends there.

Hang Sing’s Chinese Restaurant

You’ll find this well-loved Cantonese eatery at 56 Adelaide Street. They have two rooms for patrons including one with those large round tables with the Lazy Susan.

Traditional Aussie-style Chinese fare served in generous portions as well as a small Aussie menu in on offer. You’ll be hard pressed not to find a kid eating in there during their busy times in the evening.

Blayney Rotary Lookout

On average the town is 863m above sea level and the town is home to 3,355 people, according to the 2011 Census. Just north of town is the lookout, with its panorama across the town and to the nearby foothills.

There’s picnic tables, a rubbish bin, a directional finder, a few climbing trees and not much else up there. If you look at the road leading to the lookout, you’ll see a couple of numbers spray painted on the asphalt. They’re a legacy of the billycart races that were held here until about a decade ago.

Blayney Tip Shop

Looking to build your own go-kart/billycart, need gear for your child’s playroom or a discounted floaty vest?

Blayney Tip Shop, a couple of kilometres south-west of Blayney, has large shed full of pre-loved treasures, plus loads of toys sitting outdoors. Inside the large shed it’s well-organised and clean with friendly staff on hand.

The tip shop is only open week days, though. For more info about the tip shop and recycling centre, ring Blayney Shire Council on 02 6368 2104 or visit this site.

We’re sports mad

Quite a few national and international sporting figures hailed from Blayney, like soccer playing Nathan Burns. We like to claim wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley as our own, but he grew up in Carcoar, 10 minutes down the road.

Locals, particularly children, take part in rugby league, soccer, cricket, Little Athletics, basketball and even squash (it’s tucked away in the Shell service station at 140 Adelaide St).

Keen for a bit of greenery to let the kids run free? Try the Adventure playground, Carrington Park (corner Orange Rd and Osman St), Napier Oval (at the end of Gowan Pl)or Daker’s Oval (the eastern end of Oglivy St).