Top Towns for 2022: Bellingen has gone from hippie to hipster

With its lush, green landscape folding into a quirky, historic townscape, there’s a certain magic to this hinterland hub that speaks to Imogen Eveson. And to you, voting it n0. 44 in your pick of Top 50 Aussie Towns.

Find the complete list of the Top 50 Aussie Towns here.

For me, Bellingen might just be the perfect town. Perhaps that’s because I grew up in Glastonbury, New Age capital of England, so I feel right at home with Bello’s bohemian vibes.

On the Traditional Lands of the Gumbaynggir people, it lies on the wide and beautiful Bellinger River in verdant hinterland halfway between Sydney and Brisbane (and 30 minutes’ drive south-west of Coffs Harbour along the Waterfall Way).

Breathe in the majestic hinterland. (Image: Destination NSW)

The town prospered as a dairy farming community in the early 20th century – the rich soils of the surrounding valley plus ample sunshine and rainfall ensuring good pastureland – before an influx of people seeking an alternative lifestyle in the 1970s and ’80s weaved in DNA that changed its trajectory.

This hippie history is documented in a film, Bellingen – The Promised Land, that I watch one evening at the Art Deco Memorial Hall, and is evident today in eclectic shops like the Hemp Store and community-minded spaces like cafe, restaurant and live music venue 5 Church Street.

Bellingen is a place that will defy anyone not to contemplate a tree change when they visit, and this has been happening in earnest for the past couple of decades. Hippie has turned hipster and visitors today also have a range of boutique shops to browse and smart eateries to frequent.

Stroll the town’s heritage streetscape. (Image: Destination NSW)

Housed in a beautifully restored old timber church, Cedar Bar & Kitchen is the go-to spot for wine and nibbles or a refined share-plate meal on Fridays and Saturdays; sample craft beers and pizza in a converted factory at artisan brewery and boutique bar Bellingen Brewing Co., and head to Tish Faco Cantina at happy hour for $6.50 tacos, schooners and frozen margaritas.

Stop for a craft beer and pizza at Bellingen Brewing Co. (Image: Destination NSW)

I spend a disproportionate amount of time sheltering from summer rain in Hyde Bellingen, drinking soy flat whites at its cafe and cultivating an interest in expensive flax linen sleepwear at its boutique.

But despite these trimmings, you can’t beat a classic country pub complete with generously proportioned bistro meals: in this, the 1901 Federal Hotel more than delivers.

The pull of Bellingen, of course, extends way beyond the heritage streetscape and busy roster of markets and festivals. It’s the landscape that inspires the creativity that drives the town and provides outdoor adventures aplenty: seek out swimming holes, kayak and canoe the river, and follow the Waterfall Way to the heritage-listed Dorrigo National Park.

Kayak the river with Bellingen Canoe Adventures. (Image: Destination NSW)

There’s an unknowable magic stitched into that confluence of rolling green and winding water. One that keeps pulling me, and many others, back.

Explore more of the NSW North Coast in our travel guide or find out which other towns made it into your Top 50.