The Great North Walk part 5: Cowan to Brooklyn

On track again, after a few months of Covid induced hibernation, my bushwalking club's Great North Walk adventure resumed yesterday. Twenty two fully-vaxed and certified bushwalkers turned up. And what a great day out!

 

Jubes!

The Jubes Mountain Bike Park, near Golden Jubilee Field in North Wahroonga, has had a makeover.

It's looking good, and I'll have to get over there with my bike next time.

Douglass Avenue Reserve, Carlingford

Can't call it another lockdown park, as the lockdown has pretty much ended now, and you can go well beyond your local government area or your 5km radius.

Hence my explorations a bit further afield again, and stumbling across this very pleasant little spot. It's tucked away in a nice secret little corner of Carlingford.

It's near Woodstock Road, and there's even a Woodstock Collective coffee shop to explore next time.

Killara's Regimental Park

It was a dark and damp day, but it's probably not the most inspirational  of scenic parks anyway. Killara's Regimental Park sits on top of a water reservoir, so it's very flat and very angular.

It's got a croquet club on it, as well as some tennis courts and the usual flat green anonymous bit.

Two out of ten (for its heritage value).

Exercise parks of Lockdown 2 - No.105: Charles Curtis Park

OK, not much exercise to be had here at all. In fact I think it's the smallest of all the parks I've painstakingly researched over the many months of this lockdown. About half a house block in area.

It's a pleasant spot though, near the shopping centre that isn't a shopping centre, because the handful of shops are hardly ever open. The cafe is, so it's all worth while.

We were in the funny little 'Sleepy Hollow' part of Normanhurst. Not sure whether it's got a real name, but if you've ever ever been there, you'll know where I'm talking about.

Assassin's back!

 

 

 

Our assassin bug paid us a visit again. I see he (or a relative) last turned up about this time two years ago. A lot's happened since then.

 

 

More about him in the 2019 post: 2019 assassin

Exercise park of Lockdown 2 - No.104: Waitara's Orara Park

It's right next to the bigger park, Waitara Oval, which is being dug up at the moment. I was only dimly aware of this one, and thought of it as a private little space for the apartment blocks that surround it.

But no, it's quite public, and it's a nice little space. One family was even doing genuine exercise, consisting of lots of 50m laps on the rectangular bit.

Exercise parks of lockdown 2 - No.103: Beecroft Village Green

 

 

It's not nearly as small as it looks from the road or the train, and it's close to Beecroft's shops and station.

 

 

Not bad at all. An unexpected 7 out of 10!

Free to polite kids

 

And why not? Should be a lot more of this! (Seen in Normanhurst yesterday.)

Exercise parks of Lockdown 2 - No.109: Ulolo Community Park

 

Small but rather nice. It's in Hornsby Heights, just before you descend into the Galston Gorge.

Lockdown art: pet rocks and painted spoons

 

 

Walking in the Beecroft Reserve the other day, I came across what I thought at first was an amazing exotic species of blue fungus! Then there was a white one too. Both had specks of other colours on them. What a find!

Alas, they soon got better and better, with pictures of elephants and things on them. Maybe not so natural after all!

 

Down the track a bit was another clue: a great little collection of painted spoons, standing guard around the scout hut.