NSW
WHERE TO EAT, STAY AND PLAY IN
Tamworth
ANGELA SAURINE
ANGELA SAURINE reveals the top things to do and places to eat with kids during a stay at Powerhouse Hotel Tamworth by Rydges
Opening image: The Big Golden Guitar Tourist Centre in Tamworth © Destination NSW
Things to do in Tamworth with kids
It’s best known for its annual Country Music Festival – held each January – but Tamworth has so many fun activities and attractions for families, it’s worth a visit anytime. Start by discovering the inland NSW city’s indelible connection with the genre by following the Tamworth Country Music. It takes you to some of Tamworth’s key sites, including the Big Golden Guitar, the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame and the National Guitar Museum, which showcases guitars that once belonged to Keith Urban and Troy Cassar-Daley. The Country Music Wax Museum is also worth checking out, and you can see where some of the biggest names in the industry have cast their hands in concrete at the Country Music Hands of Fame Park.
Tamworth also has some epic playgrounds. Tamworth Regional Playground has a skywalk, three giant slides, four towers, a bike track, a dual flying fox and a waterfall with a three-metre sway bridge. It’s right beside Bicentennial Park, where you can ride bikes or scooters along the extensive paths and feed ducks in the ponds. Tamworth Marsupial Park also has a fantastic community-built adventure playground, and is a great place to see kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and native birds. There’s also a skate park with a pump track and rock-climbing wall, as well as an epic mountain bike park.
Just 20 minutes’ drive outside of town, Tamworth Kootingal Horse Riding Adventures offers two-hour trail rides, pony rides and tours of Swamp Oak Station. You can also visit Barraba, around an hour’s drive north-west of Tamworth, to see the 40-metre high The Water Diviner silo art. It’s also on the doorstep to the beautiful Warrabah National Park and Horton Falls National Park.
Images: Fun times at Tamworth Adventure Playground © Destination NSW, Tamworth Regional Playground Kids Skywalk, Hands of Fame Park © Destination NSW
Images: The pool at Powerhouse Tamworth by Rydges © Alison Innes, Meredith Abrahams, Apartments at Powerhouse, A room with twin beds
Where to stay in Tamworth
Powerhouse Hotel Tamworth by Rydges is a great option for families. The stylish hotel, which is located on the site of an 1888 power station, underwent a multi-million-dollar refurbishment in 2020. Kids will love the retro radios in the rooms, and the palm trees outside encircled with twinkling nights at night. Like all good hotels built in the 1980s, there’s a pool just off the car park, as well as a spa, barbecue area, sauna and guest laundry. Historic black and white photos line the walls of the uber cool lobby, with shelves filled with artefacts in keeping with the electrical theme, such as toasters, mixing bowls and light globes.
The hotel has more than 60 rooms and suites, plus 20 luxurious serviced apartments. Family King Rooms have a king-sized bed in one room and two singles in the adjoining room, which can be converted to another king bed on request. Features include bespoke leather bedheads, marble bedside tables, an ottoman, a smart TV with Foxtel, a coffee pod machine, marble bathroom with walk-in shower, and air-conditioning. Country music fans can also book to stay in the Lee Kernaghan Suite or the Slim Dusty & Joy McKean Suite.
The hotel also has a strong sustainability focus, with staff collecting used soaps for the charity Soap Aid, which recycles them and send new soap bars to communities facing major hygiene challenges around the world.
“The Courthouse Hotel also has a Family Zone with comfy booth seating and a play area with tables nearby for parents to relax and enjoy their meal while keeping an eye on the kids.”
Where to eat in Tamworth
The Powerhouse’s restaurant The Workshop Kitchen is known for its wood-fired grill and mouth-watering steaks. With 800 wine bottles lining the wall at the entrance and sophisticated Coal Bunker Bar, it may not seem that family-friendly at first glance. But it makes up for it with its child-friendly offerings, like serving juice in take-away cups and offering activity books to help keep kids amused over dinner. My four-year-old also enjoys watching the flames of the fire in the open kitchen.
Hopscotch Restaurant & Bar is located in nearby Bicentennial Park, right next to Tamworth Regional Playground. Its kids’ menu includes fairy bread, pikelets and cheese on toast, and you can also buy an activity book there for $3. Definitely money well spent!
The Courthouse Hotel also has a Family Zone with comfy booth seating and a play area with tables nearby for parents to relax and enjoy their meal while keeping an eye on the kids. Bookings at its bistro are available from 5pm, and all kids’ meals come with free ice-cream and an activity sheet.
Kids also eat free at Joe Maguire’s Pub, which has a lawn with a playground, every Monday night from 5.30pm. Just sign up to be a Mate of Joe’s at the bar to receive the offer of a free kids’ meal with any main meal purchased.
The writer was a guest of Powerhouse Hotel Tamworth by Rydges
Images: Waffles at Workshop Kitchen at Powerhouse Tamworth by Rydges, Hopscotch Restaurant & Bar, Workshop Kitchen restaurant
