The 7 Bridges Walk 29-03-2024
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Route: Circular Quay, First Fleet Park, Argyle Stairs, Observatory Hill, Gas Lane, Watermans Quay, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont Bridge, Union Street, Saunders Street, Anzac Bridge, Victoria Road, Iron Cove Bridge, Gladesville Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, Fig Tree Bridge, Burns Bay Road, Burns Bay Reserve, Tambourine Bay, Warraroon Reserve, Fleming Street, Gore Creek, Gore Creek Reserve, Greenwich, Gore Cove Reserve, Badangi Reserve, Oyster Cove, Waverton Park, Union Street, Lavender Bay, Milsons Point, Bradfield Park, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay
Date: 29/03/2024
From: Circular Quay
Parking: N/A
Start Point: Circular Quay
Finish Point: Circular Quay
Region: Sydney
Route length: 24.4 km
Time taken: 05:23
Average speed: 5.0km/h
Ascent: 601m
Descent: 589m
Points of Interest: Pyrmont Bridge, Gladesville Bridge, Tambourine Creek, Badangi Reserve, Lavender Bay, Sydney Harbour Bridge
Dubbed 'The Greatest Walk of All', the 7 Bridges Walk is a charity event held annually by the Cancer Council of Australia. While the walk is promoted by the Cancer Council as a one-day charity event it can be walked at any time of the year as it uses public paths and roads. It takes you on an expansive tour around Sydney Harbour crossing the seven bridges; Pyrmont Bridge, Anzac Bridge, Iron Cove Bridge, Gladesville Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, and Fig Tree Bridge culminating with the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Being a large loop, you can start almost anywhere but Circular Quay, with its train station and ferry wharves, is a logical choice and exactly where I began my grand day out.
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| Circular Quay |
Circular Quay is the birthplace of modern Australia for it was here, in 1788, that the first British fleet landed and established the penal colony which grew into modern-day Sydney. Why the name Circular Quay when it is clearly a rectangle? It's simply a shortening of Semi-Circular Quay which was the working port's original name and shape with metal markers on the floor indicating where previous iterations of the docks once stood.
Now, Circular Quay acts as a hub for Sydney thanks to the rail station and ferry wharves. Thousands of people visit daily, whether commuting into the city or arriving on one of the many cruise ships that dock during summer.
You can walk around Circular Quay and, if cruise ships are not docked, walk in front of the terminal building to Campbells Cove. The cove forms part of Sydney's famed Rocks district, one of the oldest and most historic areas of the city. The cove is backed by beautifully restored warehousing and factory buildings along with the uber-expensive Park Hyatt hotel (a single night costs anything between $1,000 and $2,000). For that price, you get an iconic view of the Sydney Opera House on the opposite side of the harbour.
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| The Museum of Contemporary Art |
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| Cadmans Cottage - one of the only remaining buildings from the first 30 years of the colony |
I made my way through the historic Rocks district to the Argyle Stairs, one of the oldest surviving sets of colonial steps in Sydney (and Australia for that matter). They were cut into the cliff face to a height of 9 metres when the Argyle Cut was widened, giving access from The Rocks to Miller's Point and Bunker's Hill. Today they provide access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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| George Street in The Rocks |
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| Argyle Stairs |
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| The Bridge Stairs |
A pedestrian tunnel passes beneath the harbour bridge ramps, emerging at Watson Road below the Sydney Observatory. Views from Observatory Hill are some of the best in the city with the harbour bridge and old streets featuring prominently.
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| Observatory Hill |
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Sydney Observatory |
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| Crown Sydney |
I followed the Western Distributor towards the city before leaving it at Gas Lane and making my way to the foreshore at Watermans Cove, located in the Barangaroo area of the city. Barangaroo is home to some of Sydney's newest and most exclusive accommodations, including the six-star Crown Sydney, the tallest building in the city.
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| Crown Sydney |
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| International Towers |
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| Barangaroo Wharf |
The waterfront at Barangaroo leads to Darling Harbour, arguably one of Sydney's most vibrant areas. The former rail marshalling yards have been transformed into restaurants, shopping centres, museums and tourist attractions.
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| Darling Harbour |
The most notable feature of the harbour is Pyrmont Bridge - the first of the seven bridges. The 1902 swing bridge was built to accommodate the first vehicles in Sydney until it was permanently closed to cars in the 1980s. For 25 years the bridge carried a section of Sydney's curious monorail until it was removed in 2013. The bridge still opens to this day, opening a handful of times daily to let tall masted yachts into Cockle Bay.
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| Pyrmont Bridge |
Crossing Pyrmont Bridge leads into the suburb of Pyrmont itself. The area used to comprise an industrial working-class community which declined after WWII as industries closed down. Rejuvenation in the 1990s transformed the area with people and businesses moving back. Union Street and Miller Street cut through the heart of Prymont, leading to Saunders Street where there is a sweeping path up to the Anzac Bridge (bridge number two).
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| Pyrmont Bridge |
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| Cockle Bay |
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| Darling Harbour and Barangaroo |
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| You will pass the Australian National Maritime Museum |
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| Pyrmont Bridge |
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| Pyrmont |
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| Approach to Anzac Bridge |
There is a combined bike and footpath on the north side of the bridge to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross, though the scenery leaves a little bit to be desired. Johnstons Bay is one of Sydney's cruise ship ports and consists of little more than a series of drab concrete docks.
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| Anzac Bridge |
Anzac Bridge is a fairly modern structure, opened to traffic on 3 December 1995. The bridge was given its current name on Remembrance Day in 1998 to honour the memory of the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs) who served in World War I. An Australian flag flies atop the eastern pylon and a New Zealand flag flies atop the western pylon. - top marks if you can tell the difference between them. A bronze memorial statue of an Australian Anzac soldier (a digger) holding a Lee–Enfield rifle was placed on the western end of the bridge on Anzac Day in 2000.
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| Anzac Bridge pylon |
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| Anzac Bridge |
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| The statue at the western end of the bridge |
Since the completion of the Rozelle Interchange, a new shared-user path links Anzac Bridge to Victoria Road, beginning the least interesting part of the 7 Bridges Walk. Following Victoria Road is tedious as it passes through non-descript areas of Rozelle and Drummoyne.
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| The old White Bay power station |
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| Anzac Bridge viewed from Rozelle Interchange |
Sandwiched between the two suburbs is bridge number three - Iron Cove Bridge, spanning the entrance to the bay bearing the same name. The original bridge here was opened in 1882 after four years of construction. A decision to replace the original bridge was made in 1939 just before the outbreak of World War II with the current bridge officially opened in July 1955.
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| Iron Cove Bridge |
The Iron Cove Bay is now home to the 'Bay Run', a tidy seven-kilometre scenic circuit that skirts the waterfronts of inner western suburbs like Leichhardt, Drummoyne, Russell Lea and Rozelle. Because it's a jewel of the Canada Bay Council area, it's well-maintained and very popular.
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| The entrance to Iron Cove |
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| Birkenhead Point |
Further along Victoria Road is Gladesville Bridge, bridge number four. It is an imposing structure that rises to 45m in height as it spans the Parramatta River at Lukes Bay. When it was opened in 1964, it was the longest concrete arch bridge in the world and attracted worldwide attention. The height and location of the bridge mean it has a tremendous view along the Parramatta River towards Sydney, best seen from the footpath alongside the road carriageway.
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| The view towards the harbour from Gladesville Bridge |
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| Parramatta River |
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| Beneath Gladesvill Bridge |
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| Gladesville Bridge |
Leaving Victoria Road took me to Tarban Creek Bridge (bridge five), which looks like a miniature Gladesville Bridge and then Fig Tree Bridge (bridge six), which crosses Tambourine Creek. Both were built for a new expressway that never came to fruition and neither are much to look at but they take you to the Parramatta River's north side and the return leg back towards Sydney and some of the best sections of bushwalking on the 7 Bridges route.
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| Tarban Creek |
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| Lane Cove River at Fig Tree Bridge |
Following Burns Bay Road, I entered Linley Point Reserve which forms part of the larger Burns Bay Reserve. There is a pleasant park at the head of the bay where I paused for a break. Continuing on, I followed Riverview Road to Tambourine Bay and another small reserve that protects Tambourine Creek. This is the first of several remnant bushland areas that are a refreshing change from the concrete of Victoria Road, making the hike back to Circular Quay all the more pleasant.
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| Entering Linley Point Reserve |
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| Burns Bay |
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| Burns Bay |
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| Lane Cove River |
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| The view from Vista Street |
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| The path through Holloway Park |
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| Gore Cove |
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| Gore Cove Track in Milray Reserve |
Millray Reserve leads to Badangi Reserve which is home to some significant Aboriginal sites with ‘Badangi’ being an Aboriginal word for the Sydney Rock Oyster. There are eight identified Aboriginal sites in the reserve in the form of numerous middens, axe grinding grooves and rock engraving. The whole area is best experienced by following the Gadyan Track which does a circuit of the neighbouring Berry Island - one for another day.
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| Badangi Reserve |
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| Bandangi Reserve |
Opposite Badangi Reservei is HMAS Waterhen and a steep set of steps that climb to Horace Street where I entered Waverton Park. The park neighbours an old BP oil terminal which has been meticulously refurbished since the terminal closed in the 1980s and is an interesting area to explore.
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| Oyster Cove |
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| Remains of the Oyster Cove Gas Works |
From Waverton Park, I followed Union Street to get to Lavender Bay. From the top end of Lavender Bay is a boardwalk that follows the east side of the bay to the charming Luna Park at Milsons Point. The theme park was constructed in the 1930s and has a collection of now-vintage rides including Volare, Wild Mouse and Big Dipper. It is one of only two amusement parks in the world that are protected by government legislation, the other being Tivoli Gardens in Denmark.
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| The towers of Barangaroo |
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| The ferry wharf at Milsons Point |
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| Milsons Point |
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| Bradfield Park |
The bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932 (they later went on to build the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle). It is currently the tenth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134m from top to water level. It is a magnificent beast.
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| The northern pylons on the Cahill Expressway |
In addition to the road, the Harbour Bridge carries a railway and a pedestrian footpath that gives a superb view of Sydney Harbour and the iconic Sydney Opera House as well as an intimate view of the steel structure of the bridge itself.
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Circular Quay |
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| Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson) |
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| The ASN Co building in The Rocks |
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| Fort Dension |
At the southern end of the bridge are the top of the Bridge Stairs which provide a means of getting back down the train station at Circular Quay, completing the 7 Bridges Walk. While long, the hike is a fantastic way of seeing some of the very best sights and suburbs of Sydney (aside from the leg along Victoria Road) and it's infinitely adjustable to suit the needs of most hikers. You can extend it by exploring the headlands and coves on the north side of the river or shorten it by chopping it up into smaller sections. Either way, it's an enjoyable day out.
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