The first Sydney urban hike of the season, and the Anzac Day public holiday meant a chance to explore the area north of Parramatta, a usual following routes on the Walking Volunteers website.
Starting from Parramatta rail station, through the very new, very well designed and very quiet Centenary Square development and into the city streets, picking up a coffee on the way. Over the river and immediately left into the parkland next to BigBank Stadium (the name seems to change every year or two).
Once back on the street, the next couple of kilometres held little interest apart from a section alongside the old Female Factory and associated buildings (now part of the hospital complex) and a fine tibouchina in its autumnal glory.
The entrance to Lake Parramatta Reserve was marked by a cluster of sculptures on wooden poles (not the only tall, thin sculptures encountered on the walk), of which the water dragon was the most interesting.
And so down to the lake and the trail that loops around it. An artificial lake formed by the damming of Hunts Creek, it's nevertheless been there long enough to have acquired at least some of the character of a natural feature.
The car park and BBQ area were starting to fill up with families enjoying the public holiday and the glorious autumn weather, and plenty of people were also enjoying the loop trail. And no surprise. This is a gem of a walk, long enough for families to feel they've really had a chance to stretch their legs, without being too long for small children, and with frequent twists, turns, ups and downs to maintain interest.
I almost regretted only being able to complete half the loop, heading straight on at the head of the lake to follow the line of the creek rather than turning left to head down the western shore. Other walkers were fewer now as the track wound around the back of the King's School through some fine turpentine-ironbark forest and eventually to a waterfall that was another very popular spot with families. It wasn't easy getting a shot without people in it.
Beyond the waterfall the track continued to rise gently alongside the creek for a kilometre or so, before the route branched off onto suburban streets, past James Ruse High School and onto busy Pennant Hills Road, passing a backyard fowl yard and provoking an outraged reaction from several geese.
From there the route more or less followed Pennant Hills Road for half a kilometre to the junction with Marsden Road, but I had trouble following it at one point and spent a few minutes going around in circles. Eventually and briefly on Marsden Road, I realised this was the literal high point of the walk, and took a screenshot to record the dizzying altitude.
Just before turning off the road and starting to descend along the Ponds Creek, a lookout to the south-west gave a good idea of the elevation and a chance to admire some striking flora.
As it turned out, the line of Ponds Creek and then Subiaco Creek formed the route for much of the way back to Parramatta, gently descending as it linked several parks and reserves and generally did a good job of avoiding streets. Some of it was delightful...
... but other sections, particularly lower down and closer to houses, were badly choked by weeds.
The Ponds Creek track ended at Victoria Road, on the south side of which lay the Parramatta campus of WSU and another collection of tall, thin sculptural items.
Just beyond the sculptures, awnings, marquees and an audio set-up suggested the aftermath of a graduation ceremony, but apart from one lone person all those attending had disappeared. Deserted uni campuses always seem to be slightly surreal places, and the sense of a throng of people having vanished into thin air added to the sense of weirdness.
But it was a pleasant walk through the campus and down to the Parramatta River, and then along the north bank back towards the Parramatta CBD and the station. (Always love a boardwalk.)
(Just before I took this photo, a handsome and outrageously camp young man walking in the opposite direction had tried flirting with me, which simultaneously amused me and made me concerned for his mental wellbeing. It also – I have to admit – slightly flattered me.)
But that – pretty much – was that. Having walked this stretch of the river a couple of times before, I headed straight for the station and thence home via the city. Although this was far from a demanding walk, I was happy to discover while waiting for the train that the distance covered, without any significant tightness or soreness, was nearly 25km.
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