Wentworth Falls

Wentworth Falls Lake

To-day we drove up to Wentworth Falls to have a picnic and walk around the Lake.  It is a while since we have been to the Lake and were pleased to see many new upgrades.  There was a new path at the Southern end of the Lake that led to a viewing platform over the Lake.  We saw many ducks and other water birds. The Lake was originally created by the damming of Jamison Creek to supply water for the steam trains.  The Lake is now home to native and introduced waterfowl, native fish and crayfish.  It is a great place for family picnics with many barbecues and picnic tables and childrens' playgrounds.  There is also a new toilet block facility.  There will be more upgrades in the future as I understand it is Council's intention to have a path all around the Lake.

This is a little jetty jutting out into the Lake.  There are lots of places where you can gain access to the Lake and we saw many people letting their dogs have a little splash around in the water to cool off as it was such a hot day.

This was a bush walking track on the other side of the Lake.

It was a very hot, but overcast day, so the photos do not do justice to such a pretty place. 

This is a hanging swamp.  The swamp is an endangered ecological community and home to several threatened species, including the Giant Dragonfly and Blue Mountains Water Skink.

Lots of Christmas bells in bloom?  Actually I'm not sure that they are Christmas Bells.  I'm inclined to think it is a garden bulb that has escaped into the bush!

Paddington - conclusion

More Paddington

After leaving Victoria Barracks, we caught the 440 bus back to Central Station.  Even though I have lived in Sydney all my life, I cannot remember ever spending any time in Paddington before.  It has generally been a place I have passed through on my way to somewhere else in the Eastern suburbs.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to visit it.

A view of Paddington Town Hall from Paddington Reservoir Gardens.  It was built in the late 1800's and is a distinctive example of Victorian architecture.   The clock tower stands 32 metres high and is a significant landmark at the top of Oxford Street.

Paddington Town Hall is heritage listed and its' Stapleton Hall is a popular wedding venue and a place for gala dinners and other functions.  The Town Hall also houses the Chauvel Cinema Theatre.

We were not far from the Sydney Cricket Ground  at Moore Park and could just see it from the top of Oatley Road.  The recent One Day International cricket series against India has just finished here.

While waiting for the bus I saw this small organic sourdough bakery and cafe, across the road on Oxford Street, reminiscent of a traditional Parisian Patisserie.  I would love to visit it one day.  Infinity is such an iconic name for Sydney.  (Arthur Stace the author of "Infinity" chalked on Sydney footpaths).

Some Christmas decoration still up on a pole in Oxford Street.  I wonder if it was forgotten and will remain there all year?

Well that brought to an end our trip to Paddington.  We shall probably come back again as Ken is keen to visit Victoria Barracks as we have discovered it is open to the public on Thursdays after the end of January.

Paddington - continued

Visit to Paddington

After our visit to the Paddington Reservoir Gardens we had a look around Paddington which forms a historic part of Sydney.  We crossed Oxford Street and had some lunch in the RSL Club.  It was such a hot day, we appreciated the coolness from the air-conditioning inside the Club.  After lunch we continued to walk down Oxford Street as Ken wanted to have a look inside the gate of Victoria Barracks.  When he was in the Australian Army his platoon in 4RAR had to provide soldiers for guard duty to maintain the security at Victoria Barracks and he was stationed here, at regular intervals, until transferring to 3RAR for overseas duty.  Well, we couldn't go inside, but he was happy to look inside from the gate to revive his memories.

 This photo of Paddington Post Office was taken from the Paddington Reservoir Gardens.  The Post Office is a heritage-listed building owned and operated by Australia Post.

 The Imperial Hotel on the corner of Oxford Street and opposite Paddington Reservoir Gardens has been owned by the one family for over 100 years.

 Here is another view of the Post Office at the traffic lights where we crossed over Oxford Street to walk down to the RSL Club.  

There are some lovely old Terrace Houses in Paddington and this is one that took my fancy.  It looks so elegant with its exquisite little pocket handkerchief sized front garden.

This imposing gate of Victoria Barracks is known as the Queen Victoria Gate and fronts Oxford Street.  The Regency style main barracks building was built of Hawkesbury sandstone by convicts between 1841 and 1846.

Paddington

Paddington Reservoir Gardens 

Yesterday we visited the Paddington Reservoir Garden in Oxford Street, Paddington opposite the old Town Hall.  This Reservoir was once a vital source of water for Sydney in the 19th Century, but it has now been transformed into a beautiful parkland oasis in the heart of Sydney.  It resembles a modern "Hanging Gardens of Babylon".  Original structures have been preserved and fused with contemporary and sustainable elements presenting as a layering of old and new.  Parts of it resemble an old Roman bath house, especially around the Lake of Contemplation with its backdrop of old ruined brick archways.

The old brick archways of the Reservoir have been preserved and strengthened and the new constructions have been layered seamlessly to create this wonderful public park for all to enjoy.  It was opened in 2009.

In the middle is this peaceful and tranquil pool called The Lake of Contemplation.  I love the reflections in the pool from above.

The ruins and the new construction in the background creating a breezeway connection to the upper park .

The old Eastern Chamber of the Reservoir is available as a flexible new community space.  However, the gate to this Chamber was locked so I guess it is only available for hire.

Some of the gardens, with lush ferns around the pool. There is also a grove of lovely Australian grass trees.

A lift between the levels is also available for those less mobile.

Here is the new breezeway leading on to the upper lawn on street level with access to busy Oxford Street.  The main park level is below the street on the original base level of the Western Chamber of the Reservoir.

Faulconbridge

Norman Lindsay Home and Gallery

Today we had lunch with some friends from Christ Church at the Norman Lindsay cafe.  This lovely little cafe is in the grounds of the Norman Lindsay house and gallery.  There are many tables scattered around in the gardens, but we chose to sit inside where we had the benefit of the air conditioning on such a hot day.  We spent a very pleasant couple of hours enjoying a nice meal and chatting with our friends.

Here is one of Norman Lindsay's sculptures in the front garden.  The house is made of sandstone and is heritage listed.  It is now an art gallery and museum.  Norman Lindsay carried out many renovations to the house.  When he bought it in 1912 it was falling into disrepair and the floorboards were full of termites.

Norman Lindsay's sculptures were all executed in cement, an unusual medium at the time, and one which Lindsay himself had to learn to master.  Most of these sculptures are now noticeably weathering and reduced to powdery dust on fingers and drapes so the National Trust are having them replicated in bronze.

A rather magnificent Grecian urn in which I think I would have planted something more spectacular than what is in it.  I am not sure whether there are gardeners employed to look after the grounds.  From the appearance, I think the gardens are rather neglected as I saw wisteria rampant and out of control on a front fence and many garden beds left bare and overrun with grass.