It is interesting when people from one area of the UK obviously settled en masse down here. Near the town of Newcastle are Wallsend, Hexham and Jesmond. Today on the motorway I passed a sign to Stroud and Gloucester.

I have spent today mainly going up the coast from Shoal Bay to South West Rocks. The origin of the latter name is apparently disputed – there are rocks but it’s not certain what they are south west of. Everything north east is the Pacific.

Most of the journey was on the motorway through eucalyptus forest interspersed with cattle farms and bungalows in the middle of fields. When I turned off the motorway to come here, the land turned very flat, the road was on a bridge over fields and all the older houses were on stilts. The more recent ones have big basements, presumably floodable if necessary. One newish house was being built on its own little hill.

There is a very large river and apparently they get rain and maximum tides at the same time occasionally.

This the place I am staying – the Heritage Guesthouse. Built in 1887 and big on the Victoriana inside. Unfortunately their cafe gets in the way of the photo.