I’ve been down to Peggys Pool in Faulconbridge once before; the plan for today was to continue along the creek between Meeks Falls and Turtle Falls along Meeks Gully to form a loop. Much of the loop is on-track… but between Meeks Falls and Turtle Falls I’m not really sure what to expect. There is a good track down to the creek – which is a tributary of Linden Creek – although the trailhead on Meeks Crescent is not signposted and not very obvious.
The track passes the very silted Peggys Pool, named from a Peggy who once operated an illicit still in the area, which only has a trickle of water despite some recent rain. A short distance downstream is Freezing Hole which is “is reputed bottomless, and to be connected by an underground passage with the Grose River some miles away”. Above the Freezing Hole is a set of Aboriginal grinding grooves.
A rough track continues down the creek along Meeks Gully, always staying fairly close to the water; there are a few small pools despite the creek not having much water in it.
A few hundred metres after Peggys Pool, the valley opens up into an impressive Blue Gum Forest, with an enormous stand of Mountain Blue Gums (Eucalyptus deanei). It’s like the Blue Gum Forest in the Grose Valley but much nicer, as the forest floor is covered with a blanket of low ferns; the “real” Blue Gum Forest now has head-high scrub from a combination of floods and a bushfire and has lost some of it’s “magic”.
The track isn’t very obvious in places through the Blue Gum Forest – but you don’t really need a track as it’s very easy and pleasant walking under the towering eucalypts.
At the far end of the open forest pink tape marks the trail, which again follows the very gently-flowing creek.
The track goes past the top of Meeks Falls, before dropping quite steeply down to the creek, and heading back upstream to the top of the waterfall.
Meeks Falls would be a little more impressive after heavy rain; a small trickle of water drops over the ledge, and flows into a large pool.
There are no trails shown on any maps that continue down Meeks Gully, so we continue along the creek, pushing through some thick undergrowth which hides fallen logs and debris.
After only a few hundred metres of very slow (and not very enjoyable) progress, we decide to push up the slope to see if the terrain is a bit easier away from the creek. Not only is it a lot less scrubby, but we spot orange tape marking a route.
It’s definitely more of a route than a track, with some scrambling and scrub-bashing as the route crosses the creek a couple of times – but the traped route seems to indicate the easiest path through Meeks Gully.
Just above Turtle Falls the creek gets much wider as it flows over a sandstone bed, and you look down over the deep pool below the waterfall.
A track heads down to the Turtle Falls, which drops into a deep pool and swimming hole, although as with the two waterfalls upstream, there’s only a very small trickle of water.
From Turtle Falls the rest of of the loop is pretty easy: there is a distinct bushwalking trail that follows a spur from the creek up to the ridge.
The bushwalking track meets a firetrail at the end of the ridge, with the last kilometre being an easy stroll to Adeline Park along the wide trail – or you could take one of the many informal bushwalking/mountain–biking trails that adjoin the firetrail.
The last 2.5km kilometres of the loop (which you could avoid with a car-shuffle) takes you along a few quiet suburban streets of Faulconbridge. A few signs provide fleeting amusement, although I’m a little perplexed by the “Spoonville” sign. A later Google search reveals that Spoonville is (or was) a new trend that originated in the English village of Winnersh, and involves people leaving a collection of painted wooden spoons. However, I didn’t see a single spoon here. So it was either a potential Spoonville going though a long development application process, or all the Spoon Residents had fled the town…?
This is not most exciting Blue Mountains bushwalk you can do, and the waterfalls would be a lot more impressive after heavy rain. But it’s still a pleasant bushwalk with a challenging section through Meeks Gully: the highlight is the “Faulconbridge Blue Gum Forest” (which I found more impressive than the Grose Valley Blue Gum Forest)! Although it’s 7.2km as shown on the map below, it’s closer to 8.2km in terms of distance actually walked.
Getting to the Meeks Gully (Peggys Pool to Turtle Falls) bushwalk
You can start this loop walk at either end – but if you’re just interested in the three waterfalls (Peggys Pool, Meeks Falls and Turtle Falls) it’s easier doing this as two separate “out and back” bushwalks. The trailhead for Peggys Pool and Meeks Falls starts along Meeks Crescent in Faulconbridge, opposite the KU Faulconbridge Children’s Centre; the trail is not very obvious, but soon becomes more distinct. It’s about 1.4km (15min walk) from Faulconbridge Station.
The finishing point (or alternate trailhead, which provides the easiest access to Turtle Falls) is from Adeline Park at the end of Shirlow Avenue, which is also a 1.4km (15min walk) from Faulconbridge Station. So you could easily do this loop by public transport.
More information
- Dave Noble – Peggys Pool and Meeks Falls Walk
- Blue Mountains Gazette – Spoonville: coming to a suburb near you soon
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