Optional Extras: Putney

I'm really sick of suburbs which aren't in any well-defined region. This suburb is on the northern banks of Parramatta River, around two-thirds of the way down to Parramatta. I'm copping out and simply calling this the "Northern Suburbs".

Putney

There are many different ways to get to the suburb of Putney. You can take a bus from somewhere like Ryde or even the city. You can drive, of course. You can come in on the Sydney Ferries network from the city or Parramatta. That's not how I got in though. I got in the cool way, hitching a ride on the car ferry across Parramatta River from neighbouring Mortlake. (More info on the car ferry can be found on the RMS website).

Now, you are allowed to ride the car ferry by foot (they even have a little sheltered room you can sit in on the ferry should you so wish),

but upon arriving in Putney, I found myself on a road that felt like you're not supposed to be walking on it, with no shoulder, and bushes on all sides.

At the top of the street is a park (which we'll check out later) and residential suburbia.

Now, by this stage I'd been out all afternoon in the summer heat, so I wasn't intending to spend too much time discovering every corner of Putney, but I had to at least explore a little. This took me to the residential streets around the ferry.

Being so close to the water, these homes have clearly had some money put into them.

Although I enjoyed this example which appears to be purely a roof and garage.

Leaving the wealth of riverside Putney, I ended up back at the park I skipped earlier..

This is Putney Park and is actually quite a good thing. On Parramatta River, it's got plenty of space,

places for kids to play,

and an acceptable view.

But this isn't Putney's only park. In fact, my ticket home lay in the next park I'd head to. To get there, I made my way back to the street,

continuing through more expensive-looking buildings,

as well as this absolute unit of a house,

and private peeks of water views all along the way.

This led me to this heavily sloped street which I was fortunate enough to be heading downhill on. The cyclist in my photo was not as lucky.

Continuing,

I got to enjoy another peaceful spot on the banks of Parramatta River. Unfortunately, I could not hang around as my presence seemed to upset some of the local seagulls (who presumably nest here),

so I continued on this path behind some fancy houses, before they went magpie on me.

This path took me to where I was trying to go, the romantically named Kissing Point.

Over here, there is a not-very-nice Parramatta River beach,

more decent views of the neighbouring 'burbs,

and Kissing Point Wharf.

From the wharf, you can check out Putney from the back,

or jump on a ferry out of here.

I did both.

And that's all I saw on my visit. Upon looking at Google Street View, however it seems I missed these cool fish a little further up from Kissing Point. Rats.

Putney: Far too expensive houses overlooking Sydney's main waterway.