Lynbrook Creek Trail - October 2021

Banjo Paterson Lake.

Hey, hey, with our short sharp Corona Lockdown # 6 looking like it's going to be dragging on for at least another month down here I'm dredging the bottom of the barrel a bit when it comes to finding new walks now. After scouring maps for patches of green to explore I'd pretty well exhausted all my legal options. Thankfully at about the same time as I shelled out for the Pro version of Alltrails my Covid leg rope was extended to 15 kilometres from home and I suddenly found myself with a few more options though. So anyway, after consulting my distance from home app along with my Alltrails map I came up with this little stroll over at Lynbrook.

The sun was just starting to rise behind the Sikh Temple when I set off this morning.

The sun had yet to show itself when I pulled up the ute at Lynbrook this morning. Lynbrook is one of those fairly recent suburbs that have sprung up in the cities of Australia, a place where working people and new immigrants have made their homes, a place where a house and land is still somewhat attainable on an average wage. Unfortunately a lot of these newer suburbs seem to lack a lot in the way of infrastructure and community facilities so arriving at the start of the walk I was interested to see what was going on in this little piece of suburban paradise. The existence of this trail is probably a little to do with the government now scrambling to build the infrastructure that the growing community needs, I'm thinking. So anyway after parking on the other side of Evans Road near the Sikh Temple I set off through the deserted streets of Lynbrook to check things out. 

My mornings walk started off by following the suburban Banjo Circuit for a few minutes.

After a short suburban walk along Banjo Circuit I arrived at the start of the large BarnBam Swamp and started the walk north. The trail now followed a footpath with the houses of Lynbrook on the right and BarnBam Swamp off to the left. Like on most of my Covid walks I'd set off pretty early this morning - social distancing is a lot easier when there is no one to social distance from I've found, and indeed I was shuffling along more or less on my own this morning, well unless you count the Bin Chickens who have made their home in the swamp. After tracking along beside BarnBan Swamp for twenty minutes or so I arrived at the deserted Lynbrook Railway Station (remember, we we're in a Covid Lockdown) and left the swamp behind and started the Lynbrook Creek section of the walk.

I had BarnBam Swamp off to my left and the suburban houses of Lynbrook off to my right until I reached the Lynbrook Station.

Early morning in Lynbrook.

BarnBam Swamp.

BarnBam Swamp, Lynbrook.

Crossing over the oval in the Paterson Drive Reserve I was meant to pick up a boardwalk over a swamp, although arriving at the start of the boardwalk I found it fenced off with the deck having been removed. Now I did contemplate going around the fence and skipping across the skeleton like frame of the boardwalk, although being a stickler for rules I decided that wouldn't be a prudent course of action... well, that and the fact there was an easy detour around the boardwalk! With Lynbrook Creek now flowing through a corridor of native bush off to my left this bit of the walk was actually pretty good, although with the sound of the busy Western Port Highway easily audible it wasn't always peaceful. 

Lynbrook Station is really where the Lynbrook Creek Trail came into its own.

Paterson Drive Reserve.

Wetlands in the Paterson Drive Reserve.

Yes, I did consider it....!

Lynbrook Creek Trail.

Lynbrook Creek Trail.

Apart from a couple tiny excursions it was a pretty strait forward stroll all the way up until I reached Northey Road now. When I suddenly emerged from my green corridor onto Northey Road it was a little jarring to suddenly be deposited into a light industrial area although I suppose the juxtaposition between nature, the suburban areas, the nearby highway and railway line, along with the industrial area is one of the things that make this walk interesting (he say's in a glass half full kind of way!). Northey Road was the northern extremity of this stroll so all I had to do now really was to retrace my steps back down to the ute, a journey that I enlivened where I could with a few variants which along with the changing early morning light helped keep me interested.

Early morning at Lynbrook Creek.

Lynbrook Creek.

I'm about to emerge onto Northey Road - this is as far north as the trail goes.

Lynbrook Creek.

Paterson Drive Reserve Wetlands.

Paterson Drive Reserve Wetlands.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 7.6 kilometres and climbed about 49 metres this morning on this easy walk. This walk isn't really way marked and the signposting is fairly hit and miss for a lot of the distance so most people would find some kind of map useful I'm thinking, I used the Alltrails map although Google Maps will get you through. I'm thinking that this is another of those walks to consider if anyone finds themselves in the area or who lives locally (or finds themselves in yet another Covid Lockdown!). The Banjo Paterson Reserve looks like it would make a nice spot for a picnic and has a nice children's playground. 

Relevant Posts.

Australian Gardens & Reserve Walk, 2019.

Little Boggy Creek Walk, 2021.

I think that look pretty well sums up my mood at the moment!

Lynbrook Creek Trail.

Bin Chickens out enjoying BarnBam Swamp.