Castle Hill

Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 23.9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District.

Castle Hill is the administrative centre of the local government area of The Hills Shire and part of the suburb is located in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. Castle Hill's commercial area centres around a section of Old Northern Road at the suburb's eastern side. Its southern side is an older, traditional shopping strip, with the modest-sized Castle Mall shopping centre. Its northern side is dominated by the large Castle Towers shopping centre, with two department stores as in addition to two Event cinema multiplexes. A library and community centre, with a unit apartment building on its upper floors, opened next to Castle Towers in 2004. A plaza walkway is located between the stretch of Old Northern Road between Castle Mall and Castle Towers. Castle Hill also has a light industrial area at the suburb's western side. It is linked with the commercial area by Showground Road. The Hills Shire Council chamber, the Hills Centre for the Performing Arts complex, and the Castle Hill Showground are all situated next to the industrial area, however there are plans to move these facilities to Norwest Business Park in Baulkham Hills.

The largest residential area in Castle Hill is located at the two sides of Showground Road, positioned between the commercial and the industrial area. Smaller residential areas are located at the east of the commercial area, as well as the suburb's north-east. These consist almost entirely of free-standing houses.

Several government and private schools, as well as an RSL Club, are located within these areas. To the North of Showground Road is the Samuel Gilbert Public School, Castle Glen Oval and the Knightsbridge Shopping Court. South of Showground Road, and to the east of Old Northern Road, lies the East Excelsior section of the suburb, known for its leafy streets, mature gardens and established homes on large land parcels, which is adjacent to Bidjigal Reserve.

The bulk of Castle Hill residents own private vehicles and travel to work via car. However, Castle Hill is well served by private buses such as Hillsbus which provides express services to the Sydney CBD, as well as Parramatta, Pennant Hills, Macquarie Park, Baulkham Hills, Rouse Hill and Cherrybrook. Busways provides services to Stanhope Gardens, Kellyville, Glenwood, Bella Vista and Blacktown.

Castle Hill is served by a number of schools; Gilroy Catholic College, William Clarke College, Oakhill College, St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Castle Hill High School, Castle Hill Public School, Excelsior Public, Samuel Gilbert Public School, St. Angela's, Oakhill Drive Public School and Hills Adventist College.

In late March the annual Castle Hill Agricultural Show is held at the Castle Hill Showground. This show dates back to the 1880s and reflects the heritage of the Hills District. The show is mainly agricultural with many sheep, cattle and horse competitions on every year. The Castle Hill show also includes novelty activities, showbags and educational stalls. The show runs for three days over the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle Hill