Glen Davis is situated in the Capertee Valley, from which the Capertee River flows. The valley forms a canyon that is the widest canyon in the world (the Grand Canyon is deeper). From 1938 to 1952 the town was at the centre of oil-shale mining and refining and the production of fuel. In this period the town's population rose to 2500 but after the Oil Shale Works was closed, people and houses moved away. Today, Glen Davis is almost a ghost town, with only about 25 people still living there in a handful of houses scattered among a network of empty streets. The largest building in town is an imposing two-storey brick structure, sitting in splendid isolation in front of sandstone cliffs. It is now the Glen Davis Boutique Hotel. When it was built in 1939, the building was described as the finest hotel west of the Blue Mountains and we are not talking hotel as in country-town pub here but a substantial, elegant, art deco building. It has had various reincarnations, from hotel to Marist Brothers' retreat to holiday farm to its recent restoration as a 16-bed boutique hotel. It does not take long to drive or walk around the town itself but it is worth the trip. As well as visiting the ruins of the Oil Shale Works and learning some of the industrial history of the area, there is a landscape of astonishing beauty. Bill, the local guide who will take you on a tour, is very passionate and informative, and I came away after 3 hours knowing a great deal more about the works, and the hardships the people who lived there endured. There are no shops or petrol stations in the village, we shopped at Kandos before entering the valley. We stayed at Oska's Cottage.. a real cosy, comfy abode just perfect for a 3 day stay. The valley is also reknowned internationally for rare & endangered birdlife.