Glenmore Park

 Glenmore Loch

The best part about moving into a new area is exploring your new surroundings.  Now is the perfect time to do this as we are in Covid Lockdown and not permitted to leave our local Government area.  Everyone has been encouraged to participate in exercise walks in their local area so Ken and I are making the most of this opportunity to explore our new environment.

Last Thursday we drove to Glenmore Park and discovered Glenmore Loch.  The Loch is set in a park with a walking track all the way around it.  It is a beautiful tranquil area and a haven for the local birdlife.  There are two bridges over the Loch and outdoor gym fitness equipment dotted alongside the pathway at regular intervals.

We parked our car outside the local Community Centre on the shores of the Loch and walked down to the path and a viewing platform on the shoreline over the Loch.  In the centre of the Loch there is an island with many water birds in residence both on the ground and in the trees. 

Here is Ken standing on the viewing platform stretching out over the Loch.  In the background is the Community Centre and the walking track.  

The first bridge we came to on our walk spans a culvert for water overflow from the Loch.  I love that it is called a Loch and not a Lake.  Scottish Lochs seem to put the word Loch first, eg Loch Ness, Loch Lomond but Glenmore Loch is distinctly Australian with the word Loch appearing last! 

Big, sturdy outdoor gym fitness equipment is placed alongside the path at regular intervals.  Use of this equipment is prohibited during lockdown.

Here is the Loch.  The day was overcast and cloudy, as you can see by the many clouds reflected in the water.  It would look better on a brighter day.  Towards the end of our walk the sun did come out, so I should have gone back and taken more photos!  Next time!!

Here is the second bridge, a little bit longer than the first bridge.  I like the stone pillars and the wrought iron panels.  This bridge is at the end of the Loch and once again spans a culvert.

An Ibis flapping his wings by the edge of the Loch.  There were lots of waterbirds, including Purple swamphens, White-faced Herons, Dusky Moorhens as well as many ducks.

There were fish in the Loch and fishing was permitted, subject to size limits.  I noticed a sign  stating there were Australian Bass, Estuary Perch, Southern Shortfin Eel and Spiny Crayfish in the Loch. We certainly saw evidence of fish as we watched them swimming from the viewing platform.

We completed our circumnavigation of the Loch and returned to our car in the car park.  

As we drove out of the area we admired the many lovely homes surrounding the Loch.  The area of Glenmore Park was mainly rural prior to the 1970's when the first residential subdivision occurred.  In 1990 Glenmore Park was officially opened by the NSW Premier.  Its development has been carefully planned to cater for the social, economic and residential needs of its residents. It appears to be a pleasant place to live. 

Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Mulgoa people who spoke the Darug language.  The area marked the boundary between two important clans, the Darugs from the plains and the Gundungurra from the Mountains who spoke a different language.   In early Colonial days there were many bloody encounters between the Europeans and Aboriginals, However, these clashes were mainly between the Gundungurras and the Europeans.  The Mulgoa people remained peaceful.

We shall come back to this beautiful area in future weeks as there is much more to explore.

Acknowledgements

1.  Penrith City local history.

2.  Wikipedia.

 

Penrith

 Yandhai Nepean Crossing

Yesterday, during the Covid Lockdown, we drove down to the Nepean River to do our exercise walk  across the Yandhai Nepean Crossing.  We did this walk nearly three years ago, when the bridge was first opened, so we were keen to walk it once again.

We  parked the car conveniently in Memorial Avenue and made our way towards the bridge.  We were shocked to see how much construction work is going on.  A new building was under construction, right alongside the start of the Yandhai bridge.  It is the new Log Cabin Hotel being erected on the site of the old Log Cabin that was gutted by fire nine years ago.  It should be very nice when it is finished, but at the moment it is a construction site and the area is not as peaceful as it used to be!

The Yandhai Nepean Crossing is the longest single clear-span footbridge in Australia.  The main span over the river is 200m long.  It was designed as a triangular Steel Warren truss with curved steel-concrete box approach-spans with viewing platforms and balconies along the structure.  The lighting has also been designed to complement the aesthetics of the bridge.

Here you can see the construction of the new Log Cabin Hotel is well under way.  It is a two storey, 16 million dollar development with indoor and outdoor bars and dining areas, as well as a beer garden and children's play area.  There will be fine dining and function rooms upstairs with outstanding views  overlooking the Nepean River.

The Victoria Bridge spans the River alongside the new Yandhai bridge.   It is a heritage listed former railway bridge and now a wrought iron box plate girder road bridge across the Nepean River on the Great Western Highway.   The bridge was designed by John Whitton and built from 1862 to 1867  It also carries the trains up and over the Blue Mountains.

Emu Hall is a historic house on the western riverbank in Emu Plains.  The house is Victorian Italianate and was built in 1854 for James Tobias Ryan.  Emu Hall is now a cafe with adjoining restaurant and beer garden.  This historic homestead has been renovated, but still retains some remarkable features, including the large windows and French doors that open onto a beautiful garden.

I love this grand gateway entrance to Emu Hall with its stone pillars and wrought iron gates.  In the foreground on the left you can just see part of the trunk of a tree, gaily festooned with fairy lights that would look pretty when lit-up at night.

Inside the gates, the garden has remnant plantings remaining, including clusters of Jacarandas, Camphor Laurels and Bunya Pine trees.

This photo shows the lovely curved steel approach span in the bridge from the Emu Plains side. One of the viewing platforms is incorporated in the curve. 

An Explorers Memorial to commemorate the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in 1813 stands outside the entrance to the bridge in a little park on the Penrith side. 

It is a clock memorial (showing the correct time) standing in a rose garden.  The Memorial also commemorates the further expeditions and surveys by George Evans and William Cox.

It was starting to rain as we left the Memorial, so we hurried back to our car, glad we didn't have to walk very far.  

We continued to drive down Memorial Avenue, and into Nepean Avenue admiring the many lovely homes in this street on the Eastern bank of the Nepean River.  The road comes to a dead end when it meets Tench Reserve and the point at which we concluded our recent walk in Tench Reserve.  Nepean Avenue forms part of the loop section of the Great River Walk as it leads directly to the Yandhai Nepean Crossing.

The word Yandhai comes from the Darug language and means "walking in the path of past and present"  and is reflective of story telling, including the past use of the river by the Darug people. The Darugs have strong traditional and historical ties to Western Sydney and the Nepean River, so the name Yandhai Nepean Crossing is a fitting name for this pedestrian bridge.

Acknowledgements

1.  Seymour Whyte

2.  Visit Penrith.

3.  Weekender - Alena Higgins Senior News Reporter.

4.  Blue Mountains Gazette 24.10.2018

5.  Wikipedia.

6.  Emu Hall Bar & Kitchen.

Penrith

Mulberry Lane, Tench Reserve, Penrith

On Thursday afternoon, we did our Covid Lockdown exercise walk in our Local Government Area along the Memory Walk in Tench Reserve beside the Nepean River (in Darug country).  We parked the car in the car park along Tench Avenue and walked along the footpath until we came to the beginning of Memory Walk.  This is a wide concrete path leading to Nepean Avenue.  There were many people taking advantage of the pleasant weather and doing an exercise walk up to Nepean Avenue and back.  We too were exercising, in a more leisurely fashion and taking photographs along the way.  

Here is the beginning of Memory Walk and halfway down the path on the left-hand side are some Californian Redwood trees.  There is a plaque stating that the trees were "planted in honour of the men and women who served Australia in time of conflict during World War 11.  Lest we forget."

Here is a picture showing the Californian Redwood trees on the right of the path.  The Californian Redwoods are amongst the oldest living things on earth with a lifespan of 1,200 - 1,800 years.  They are also the tallest species of tree growing on the planet growing up to 115 metres in the forests of Northern California.

Here are the Mulberry trees in Mulberry Lane.  The trees are laden with fruit, just beginning to ripen.  The public is welcome to pick the fruit and many people come and pick this luscious crop, generously provided by the local Council. They request that people do not be greedy and leave fruit for others and not to damage the trees by climbing them. 

This picture shows the nobbly and gnarled trunks of the Mulberry trees.  The Mulberry is a deciduous self-fertile tree from 5-20 metres.  They have glossy heart-shaped green leaves and pendulous branches and make a good shade tree.  After a while the trees develop a lovely gnarled trunk.  

The mulberries are red at the moment but starting to turn black. By November they should be ready for harvest.  We shall be coming back in November as I believe the Red-whiskered Bulbul likes to visit and eat the mulberries.  I am keen to photograph him and add him to my collection of birds seen in the Penrith area.

 In the orchard, past Mulberry Lane, the blossom trees are  starting to flower and looking very pretty.  Some trees have white blossoms and others have pink.

Now and then through the trees we could catch a glimpse of the river as it shimmered and sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

We did not venture out into Nepean Avenue but decided to head back to the car.

We will come back another day and continue the walk along Nepean Avenue as it eventually leads to the Yandhai Nepean Crossing across the river and is part of the Great River Walk. It would be nice to walk across this pedestrian bridge again as we have not done this since it opened in 2018.  It was a perfect afternoon for our walk, which we enjoyed very much.  It is simple things, like walks, that makes lockdown more bearable!  As from yesterday, exercise time has been extended from one hour per day to unlimited time from 5 am to curfew at 9 pm.

Acknowledgments

1.  Our Place - Penrith City Council's quarterly Newsletter Autumn 2021.

2.  Garden Clinic by Linda Ross 9.2.2015

3.  Birdlife Australia (Red-whiskered Bulbul)