Hotels in Armidale, Australia

A little about Armidale...

Armidale (population 21,660) is a university and cathedral city in northern New South Wales, Australia, in Armidale Dumaresq Council. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It is the seat of The University of New England. It is located approximately half way between Sydney and Brisbane on the New England Highway, national route 15.

Seasons:
Summers are characterised by warm to very warm days followed almost always by cool, sometimes cold, nights. Thunderstorms often produce heavy falls of rain and occasionally hail in the afternoons and early evenings, also bringing a sudden drop in temperature to provide relief after a hot summer's day. Unlike nearby coastal areas, Armidale dœs not usually experience high humidity levels making most of the summer days quite comfortable. Temperatures exceed 30 degrees on average of 13 days per year, but rarely reach higher than 35 degrees.

The autumn season is described by many as the best time of year in Armidale. As the leaves turn yellow and fall, day temperatures are mostly still warm, particularly in March and April. Days are sunny, the thunderstorm season is over, and rain becomes more sporadic. Nights become colder, and residents often awake to a thick fog blanketing the Armidale valley, but by 9am the fog has cleared to be followed by a bright sunny day. The first frosts of the year usually occur in April, but are not particularly severe.

Winters are cold and bracing. Overnight temperatures often drop below minus 5 degrees with a thick white frost on the ground, and occasionally as low as minus 10 degrees. These cold frosty mornings are usually followed by sunny days, but beware of the wind. Day temperatures may make it as high as 16 degrees, but sometimes may not climb beyond 10 degrees. These are the true New England winter days with biting westerly winds, bleak grey clouds, and showers of rain and occasionally snow. Rainfalls during the winter months are usually light.

In spring temperatures are milder, although early morning frosts still continue well into October. September is usually a cool windy month, and by late October the thunderstorm season is starting with increasing rainfalls. The spring months produce the most variable weather of the year. A week of warm sunny weather can be followed by several cold days with temperatures right back at winter levels before gradually warming up again. This cycle often repeats itself many times right through until the start of summer.

Armidale is the terminus of the Northern Railway, with direct links to Sydney via the daily Countrylink Xplorer service. There is also a modern airport with 5 daily scheduled flights to and from Sydney with Qantaslink. Armidale Airport, at 1084 metres (3,556 ft), is the highest licensed airport in New South Wales. The city is linked further north by daily coach to Tenterfield provided by Countrylink. Other bus companies such as Greyhound also provide the city with numerous daily services.

Local town services are provided on 6 different routes by Edwards Coaches and Armidale is serviced by 16 taxis.

The Annual Wool Fashion Awards, which showcases the use of Merino wool by fashion designers, are hosted by Armidale in March each year. The Autumn Festival is a popular annual event of April in Armidale. The festival features a street parade, stalls and celebrations throughout the township. It is a regular part of the city's attractions, often promoting Armidale's diverse culture (for instance, posters set up by council attempt to attract tourists with the motto 'Foodies Thrive In Armidale') and autumn colours. During May the annual Wool Expo is staged to display wool fashions, handicrafts, demonstrations, shearing competitions, yard dog trials etc.

The University of New England (UNE) is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales.