Mudgee Farmers Market

Mudgee sells itself on food and wine, and the third Saturday of the month is when the food half of that reputation stands behind a trestle table and talks to you directly. Robertson Park sits a block off the main street, which makes this an easy walk from anywhere in town rather than a drive to a showground on the edge of it.

Growers first, gift shop second

The stall mix leans hard towards things grown and made in the region: fruit and vegetables, meat, honey, olive oil, preserves, baked goods and the gourmet products the district exports to Sydney delis. Craft is present but it is not the point. If you want to fill a cooler bag before heading out to the cellar doors, this is the four hours in which to do it.

Twelve months a year with no summer or winter break is unusual for a regional monthly market, and it changes what you find. Turning up in July gets you a genuinely different table to turning up in February, which is the argument for treating this as a seasonal stop rather than a one-off.

Good to know before you go

A 12.30pm finish makes this a morning, not a day. Come early if you want produce rather than leftovers, and bring bags and cash, though most of the established stalls take cards. Parking around Robertson Park fills by mid morning but the streets nearby are wide and free. If you are staying the weekend, do the market first and the cellar doors after: it is much easier to carry a box of vegetables at nine in the morning than at four in the afternoon.