A Month of Beaches Part 4: Freshwater

My next step in this month of beaches leaves the Eastern Suburbs and heads to the Northern Beaches. Welcome to the confusingly named

Freshwater

Freshwater is a beachside suburb sitting towards the southern end of the northern beaches. For this region of Sydney, if you're not in a car, a bus is your only option. My bus dropped me off just outside of this suburb's bounds, on the rather main Pittwater Road.

As the above sign suggests, turning left brought me into the suburb, where I was immediately afforded the privilege of walking uphill.

At least by heading uphill you get a bit of a view of some of the drab apartments of residential "Freshie".

My first goal was to hit the suburb's commercial centre, just a few steps away.

The entry into the area is marked by the Harbord Literary Institute, which turned out to be a community hall and library. I find the triangle thing above the entrance pleasing, which is the only reason I included its picture.

The rest is as you may expect for the Northern Beaches, with a homewares and knick-knacks shop,

somewhere to buy African statues,

and a legit looking fish shop,

on top of the expected restaurants and cafes,

and a plaza with a clearly very successful chook shop.

I did get a kick out of the little tagline that the council's put up in the local plaza. Freshwater, home of the saltwater people.

But enough dilly-dallying. This is the month of beaches, so let's do something wild like head to the beach.

Continue past the town centre and the ocean soon appears in the distance.

Power-walk to the end and you hit a pretty good patch of grass,

with a second patch of grass overlooking the shore.

This is also (understandably), where some of the suburb's fancier homes can be found.

Finally, I took a path from the grassy patch onto the sand.

Freshwater is a smaller beach compared to some of its Northern Beaches brethren (such as Narrabeen which goes on for days), but you've still got enough space to set yourself down and enjoy the sun and sand.

I plodded through the sand (with my shoes on), to reach the beach's northern end,

and begin up this path to see what other bounties Freshwater may offer.

This lets you take in the view of Freshwater's saltwater shores,

the Freshwater saltwater swimming pool up ahead,

and even a glimpse of neighbouring Manly Beach.

I find this type of beachside pool less exciting-looking than the ones which are more "naturally" built into the rocks, but you still have to appreciate the beauty of a swimming pool plonked into the sea.

Continue past the pool, and you get to some cliffs overlooking the sea and neighbouring beaches. I didn't go too close to the edge as my mum reads these and I don't want to get into trouble. Hi mum!

Now having "ticked off" Freshwater beach, I began my walk to the next suburb, starting with this path off the cliff.

(There was a pretty solid view up top too.)

This leads to the road and some somewhat evil looking buildings, complete with concrete and black glass.

To walk to the next suburb there are two main ways. You either walk along the road in the picture above, or you head down these stairs,

and to a bloody cool boardwalk. This is Curl Curl boardwalk, another coastal walk that hugs a few picturesque cliffs. It was clearly named by the same people who thought to call this slice of the ocean Freshwater because it's not in the suburb of Curl Curl.