Exeter Village Market

Exeter has a few hundred people and a very good market, which is the sort of imbalance the Southern Highlands specialises in. On the first Saturday of the month Exeter Park fills, live music plays, and the surrounding district turns up to buy vegetables and stay for coffee.

The preserve shelf is the giveaway

Look at what the stalls sell and you can tell how established a market is. Exeter has plants, bread, fruit and vegetables and honey at the front, and then a long run of jams, relishes, sauces and preserves behind them, which is what a district produces when the growers have somewhere reliable to sell. Handcrafted pieces, knitwear, leather goods, candles, jewellery and homewares fill out the rest, alongside cakes, confectionery and pre-made meals.

Live music runs through the market rather than for a token hour, and there is ample parking, which for a village of this size means you will not be circling.

Good to know before you go

Bring bags, cash and a cooler bag if you are buying meat or cheese to take back down the mountain. Nine until half past one is a civilised window and there is no need to be first through the gate, though the bread goes early. Exeter sits between Bundanoon and Moss Vale, so this pairs naturally with a Highlands drive rather than being a destination on its own. In winter dress for it: the Highlands are considerably colder than the coast and the park is open ground.