Following the Avon River and continuing on from York we made our way east to Brookton for another overnight free camp. Like York, Brookton has a freecamp area beside the Avon River.
Brookton is a small town with a population just short of 1,000 and like York is an agricultural hub that also relies on tourism as well. The free camp was near the bridge by the river and only a short walk into town. It was quite similar to the York free camp except that the Avon River was dry at this point.
Before Brookton we passed through Beverley, another small town of around 1,000 people. It was notable for its stark white Town Hall and other buildings such as the Freemanson’s Tavern all of which were very clean, well preserved and architecturally attractive.
We stopped in Beverley for lunch. Jo ordered some Bruschetta, which was quite good and Rob went for a Chicken Burger… The chicken burger itself was quite good but it was served with a great deal of flair wrapped entirely in aluminium foil sculpted into a chicken… Who does that? Apparently The Red Vault cafe in Beverley does! How can you not love a cafe that goes to that length to make you smile about your meal?
But back to Brookton. It was a good distance from York and a nice quiet overnight stay. We had a bit of a walk through the town and although it was quite nice it was not as picturesque as York or Beverley. Two things that did stand out were the local tire shop and the agricultural equipment yard.
The Brookton Tire Service had set up an area near the entrance with wishing well and an old dray complete with horse statue under a shelter.
Again… it is little touches like these that you find in small regiona towns that make them just t hat little more interesting.
Not far from there was another shelter that covered three very tall farm machines and a trailer unit. We weren’t sure what that actual purpose was but no doubt have something to do with wheat prodution. They all looked brand new and ready to go never the less. It’s a different world to the suburbia that most of us spend all of our time in.
Brookton proved to be a good overnighter and we were starting to think that we had made a good choice to head out through the Wheat Belt. A number of people we came across before heading out this way would say things like, “The Wheat Belt? What do you want to go out there for?” It just goes to show that you shouldn’t always rely on other peoples opinions because you just might miss out on something good.