Red Hill Rail Trail - May 2020

Autumn is a pretty good time for this walk.

After more than six weeks at home, only venturing out to work or buy groceries you might say I was keen to get out for a walk when our lockdown eased a bit. Unfortunately for me I firstly had to finish my week at work and then perform a bit of surgery on Sam's car which meant that my options for my first post Corona walk were a little more limited than I'd imagined they would of been. I'd actually considered this walk while we were on the lockdown however in the end I decided that it was best if I didn't blur the lines and decided not to drive anywhere for exercise, looking at social media it seemed that a lot of others didn't mind blurring that line though.

Setting off this morning I had to forgo my usual breakfast and coffee.

Normally this walk would of probably started with brekky and coffee at the Merricks General Wine Store however cafés still weren't open for anything other than take away yet. Wanting to avoid as many people as possible I set off around 7am today too, so that would of put a handbrake on my leisurely breakfast anyway. Anyway, after parking at Merricks I set off along the crush granite path beside Frankston Flinders Road and then Merricks Road, skirting around the Merricks Equestrian Reserve as I went. Once around the equestrian centre I arrived at the Rail Trail sign and from here on everything was pretty obvious as far as navigation goes.

I picked up this gravel path that skirted around the equestrian reserve.

It was an early start again today.

After skirting around the equestrian reserve I found this sign post beside Merricks Road.

Heading west the rail trail mostly passes through a fairly bucolic landscape with vineyards, small farms and the occasional orchards being the order of the day for the most part. Still while it was lacking a bit in the wilderness stakes there was a certain joy de vivre just being outside in the fresh air this morning as the sun came up over the Mornington Peninsula. The rail trail gently climbs west for awhile before swinging north, climbing a little more before descending fairly steeply down to meet the end of Tonkins Road.

Early morning on the Red Hill Rail Trail.

I had been hoping for a blue sky morning....

The rail trail was pretty well deserted - initially at least.

Arriving at Tonkins Road I picked up the rail trail section of this walk. I'm thinking that so far I'd been walking old rural easements however between Tonkins Road and Red Hill the rail trail follows the alignment of the old Bittern to Red Hill railway. This old railway line was built in 1921 and operated until 1953 carrying mostly fruit to the Melbourne markets. Back then my grandparents actually owned a orchard at Red Hill, in those days apples, pears and strawberries were the most common products emerging from the Mornington Peninsula. Now days it appears that vineyards seem to be taking up most of the agricultural land.

Looking back towards Merricks - this walk has a very bucolic feel about it.

Climbing higher I got some distant views over Port Phillip Bay to the Dandenong Ranges.

The Mornington Peninsula is a very nice spot.... however I maybe biased!

It use to be mostly orchards up here - now days its mostly vineyards.

Once on the old railway alignment the walking was very easy as I shuffled along beneath an avenue of pines, slowly climbing until I arrived at Red Hill. Now while I'd missed my coffee back down in Merricks I was lucky to find a café in Red Hill open for takeaways. Sitting on a deserted bench at the site of the old Red Hill Railway Station enjoying my first real coffee in weeks life was pretty good, in a melancholy type of way!

Heading towards Red Hill on the actual old railway alignment.... the surface was getting a little cut up in spots.

I should of bought an apple for the locals.

Approaching Red Hill.

My signal to leave the rail trail.

The Red Hill War Memorial.

The highlights were coming thick and fast this morning.

Red Hill

There are normally a couple of choices for coffee up here.

This morning it was take away coffee for me though...it was still greatly appreciated.

After poking around Red Hill for awhile I grabbed my pack and set off back down the rail trail to Merricks. Now when imagining this walk in my head before I walked it I'd visualised long distance views across Westernport Bay all the way to Phillip Island under a blue sky, unfortunately I got overcast skies with limited views. I could actually see The Nobbies off Phillip Island, although the view was far from clear this morning. While the long range views were a little underwhelming the scenery up a bit closer was pretty sweet with the deciduous trees adding a bit of Autumn colour to the rural scene. It was around 11am when I arrived back at the ute this morning and while my first post Corona walk hadn't been an absolute stunner it was still a very pleasant little outing after being stuck at home for so long.

Finishing my coffee it was time to drop back down to Merricks.

The rail trail passes through a few shallow cuttings.

There aren't a lot of orchards left up here now.

Approaching Tonkins Road again.

Looking across Westernport Bay towards Phillip Island and The Nobbies.

Dropping back down to Merricks I shared the trail with a few more walkers now.

The Dirt. 
I walked 14.1 kilometres and climbed 342 metres according to my GPS on this mornings easy-medium grade walk. Now while this is a retrace the walk back does allow for a different perspective on things and on a nice day there are some great views across Western Port Bay to Phillip Island. This walk is all on pretty good gravel paths although the surface can get a bit cut up by horses and bikes if there has been a lot of rain. With cafés at both Merricks and Red Hill it would be a good walk to incorporate with a meal, well once we are allowed to eat in café again. There are some basic notes and maps floating around in both an Explore Australia book and also an old edition of Rail Trails of Victoria and South Australia. A Melway or google maps will probably get most people through safely though.

Relevant Posts.
Point Leo to Balnarring, 2015.

Kangerong Nature Conservation Reserve Walk, 2019.

I could of been in the Scottish Highlands.

I skirted around the south-west side of the equestrian reserve.

Things were a lot busier when I returned!