The start of this short but very pleasant bushwalk in Allenby Park feels a bit like the The Chronicles of Narnia, where Lucy steps through a wardrobe to enter the magical world of Narnia. One moment I’m in front of an industrial estate, taking an unmarked concrete path that follows a steel fence along the edge of a carpark…
…and a few minutes later, I’m surrounded by bush and next to a creek, with not a sign of “civilisation” in sight. Even the creek seems relatively clear and unpolluted, despite Allenby Park being surrounded by suburbia.
I continue along the path, which is surrounded by dense ferns.
The trail soon crosses Brookvale Creek over a timber bridge, providing a good view of the Coachwood Rainforest along the valley.
I’m enjoying the shaded environment along the creek, as is an Eastern Water Dragon which is sitting on a log over the creek. Allenby Park is also home to the threatened Powerful Owl.
The trail continues ascending gently along the creek, with the occasional stormwater cover the only reminder that I’m not too far from suburbia.
The track soon passes some cascades below Allenby Falls, before climbing up some timber stairs and a timber boardwalk, past some low sandstone cliffs.
At the top of this section is Allenby Falls, which are pretty impressive after a few days of rain.
Just after the falls the track crosses the creek, over an old concrete causeway.
You can return from here on along the other side of the creek, to form a loop. I continue a bit further up Brookvale Creek. This next section of the trail appears less-trafficked and a bit rougher, as it follows the creek quite closely and passes some small cascades.
I follow Brookvale Creek for another few hundred metres, crossing a couple of side-creeks through more Coachwood Rainforest, before reaching another track junction.
This is far as I go today; I retrace my steps, back through the wardrobe and to the car!
Although Allenby Park is not very large, you can do a short or long loop to avoid back-tracking and there are a few different entry points. While the star attraction is Allenby Falls (especially after rain), all of the bushwalking trails are very pleasant and worth exploring!
Getting to Allenby Park
There are a few access points to Allenby Park:
- End of Clearview Place, Brookvale. Limited parking.
- End of Doulton Avenue, Beacon Hill
- Dresden Avenue, Beacon Hill
- Derna Crescent, Allambie Heights
Acess from Owen Stanley Avenue (Beacon Hill) is not permitted.
More information on Allenby Park
Covering 42 hectares in the suburbs of Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill and Brookvale, Allenby Park consists of land parcels that were dedicated to public recreation from 1919. The bushland was named after Field Marshall Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, and English soldier and British Imperial Governor.
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