Diary 2026/27 - Walks & other activities

Tuesday 17 November

WIANAMATTA 

You will feel like the ‘jolly swagman' from ‘Waltzing Matilda’ after doing this 7km walk. There are billabongs, a dusty road, a thick forest of grey eucalyptus trees, some grey kangaroos and flocks of crows and flies and bellbirds.

This place is called Wianamatta Regional Park but it’s really just a big nature reserve. Though there are ghostly reminders of the Australian Army’s ‘St Marys Munitions Filling Factory’. There are no amenities apart from a set of toilets at the entrance. There is no landscaping, picnic tables nor mobile phone reception.

The walk is westwards from Ropes Crossing to Jordan Springs. And then the return by bus from Jordan Springs to Werrington Station.

Bring

Bring food and drink —more than 2 litres would be sensible if the forecast temperature is higher than 26°— a wide-brimmed hat and insect repellent for the flies.

Meet

Meet on the concourse at St Marys Station no later than 9.50 because the 759 bus to Mount Druitt is scheduled to leave nearby at 10.09.

Terrain

Flat, wide, mostly unpaved service trails. This walk has no exit points.

Enquiries

Mark Matheson 9559 5502 (preferred) or 0409 617 778 (emergencies)

ABOVE 1. The track in the southern part of Cumberland Forest

2.  A creek crossing with good stepping stones on Excelsior Creek 

Date to be announced

CUMBERLAND STATE FOREST & DARLING MILLS CREEK 

(from Cherrybrook Metro Station to Baulkham Hills)

Meet: at the exit to Cherrybrook Metro Station at 10am.

Transport: There is a frequent Metro train (approx. every 7 minutes).  Catch the Metro from the City or at Epping, if coming from Strathfield etc

There is a car park near the station.  At the end of the walk you will have to catch the Metro from Castle Hill back to Cherrybrook.

Description:

From the Metro Station we walk along the Castle Hill Road to the Main Entry to the Cumberland Forest.   (about 800m) Along the way there are great views out over the Sydney Basin towards Parramatta.

We enter the Forest and follow a bush track (about 800m) mainly downhill to the Café.

Cumberland State Forest is a wet sclerophyll forest situated on the southern edge of the Hornsby Plateau, and contains 40 hectares of native forest, it sits on the intersection between the Hawkesbury sandstone and the superimposed Wianamatta shale.

The original land was privately owned and was cleared in 1908.  In 1938, the land was purchased and management of the area was assigned to the New South Wales Forestry Commission. It was dedicated as a State Forest in 1939.  Seedlings were planted in 1939 and the bulk of them were established by 1944.

What is seen today is more than 65 years of forest growth, where it predominantly features secondary forest ecosystems.

The northern part of the forest is generally composed of blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) and grey ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata), related to the soils that are traced from the Wianamatta Shale. In the southern part, there is more cover and thus the sandstone influence prevails, where turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera) becomes more prominent and blue gum less common.

We will stop at the café for a coffee and cake.

After coffee at the café, there are 2 options.

·       Option 1:    Early exit, catch a bus near the southern entry to the Cumberland Forest

·       Option 2:    Continue the walk along Darling Mills Creek to Baulkham Hills.

Option 1:   details:    refer to Map 1 below

After a coffee break you can do some easy walks and explore around the Cumberland Forest, then exit to the bus stop.

Easy walks:   see the Map 1 below.   These walks have colour coded signs.   There will also be a few copies of the Forest Map to hand out.

Exit to the bus stop:   After exploring the Cumberland Forest, you can exit via the southern entry gate, by following the blue track on the Map 1 below.

In Oratarvo Ave there is a bus stop.  Route 635.  There are 2 options, take the bus travelling to the east, which will take you to Beecroft Station.  Take the bus travelling to the west and it will take you to Cherrybrook Station.  Consult the timetable at the bus stop for details.

Suggestion:   keep a copy of the Map 1 (see below) on your phone

Map 1.

Red track:    The arrival into the Cumberland Forest from Cherrybrook Station

Blue track: The exit to the southern gate and the bus stop in Oratarvo Road

Yellow track:   The Sensory Walk, an easy 300m walk.

Orange track:  The Palm Gully Trail, a 1.3km walk through the Forest

Option 2: Details (see Map 2 below)

Continue the walk to Baulkham Hills and the bus to Castle Hills Station.

From the café in the Cumberland Forest we take a trail to the southern boundary, through the tall trees of the Forest, then along some suburban roads (approx. 900m) to the start of the bush trail which  follows along the Darling Mills Creek.  There are several pleasant spots where we can stop for lunch.   We continue along the Darling Mills Creek to the junction with Excelsior Creek.  From here we head north for a while, then turn west along Saw Mill Creek and exit the valley into suburban Baulkham Hills, where we catch a bus (route 603) in Cary St, back to Castle Hill Metro station.   This bus has a varying frequency.

Distance: total distance 7.5 km 

Grade:  Medium, the bush walk sections are a mix of fire trails and reasonably formed bush tracks. There is a small uphill section from Saw Mill Creek at the end.

Bring:  Your cheerful self, good walking shoes, suitable clothing and sun screen for the expected temperature forecast.   A water bottle, lunch, coffee etc.

For more info call John 0414 727 060

BELOW 

Map 1 as described above 

and Map 2 Cherrybrook Metro via Cumberland Forest & Darling Mills Creek to Baulkham Hills 

Date to be announced

MEADOWBANK to PARRAMATTA

This is a pleasant, non-strenuous walk along familiar pathways. (See map below.)

The walk is around 9 kilometres from Meadowbank to Parramatta. But it would be shorter if one catches the new Light-Rail Tram for the last section between Rydalmere and Parramatta.

We will get good views of the placid river and some new landscaping. And we might see some signs of the new high-rise suburb on the north side called Melrose Park and the two bridges planned to connect it to the fast metro train at Olympic Park on the south side.

Exit-points: There are a few exit-points via bus and ferry along the walk.

Bring Lunch, snacks and drinking water.

Meet at Meadowbank station at 10:05am. 

Enquiries: Mark Matheson 9559 5502 (preferred) or 0409 617 778 (emergencies)