We're almost through with this godforesaken year. To celebrate, here's a very special event - my 342nd suburb.
Linley Point
Linley Point is one of those tiny suburbs you'd never hear about unless you spend way too much of your life clicking around on suburb names in Google Maps. This
North Shore suburb sits on the Lane Cove River, about 10km northwest of the city. I happened to be driving through the area on the way to something else, so I figured this is a great opportunity to pick off a small suburb which could otherwise be a bit awkard to get to by public transport.
I stopped on this leafy street and went for a stroll.
Immediately, I could tell that this is a very well-off area, with some houses being nice but not mindblowing,
and some being nicely-styled indeed.
I soon reached this small neighbourhood playground.
This place is notable for having a swingset with a view over the Lane Cove River.
Because I wasn't here to get trapped in some children's swings, I took a set of stairs by the side of the playground,
to a pedestrian bridge over the big and scary Burns Bay Road,
enjoying the water views along the way,
and arrived at street level,
still with open views of the river.
This route actually leads to another park - this one with perhaps a bit more utility than just swings and slippery dips.
This spot, Cunninghams Reach, features some idyllic riverside benches,
barbecues and picnic tables,
and a surprisingly decent amount of space.
There's even tiny crabs that scuttle on the muddy banks.
This would be a wonderful spot for a BBQ or picnic other than the fact that there are no toilets here. Perhaps a way of keeping the non-locals out?
To get back into the residential side of the suburb, I didn't have to go back the way I came, but could instead continue following the river,
under the adorably named Fig Tree Bridge,
and a stone's throw from some very fancy looking houses,
to reach this grassy knoll. I climbed its gentle slope,
to reach street level,
despite the street's pleading.
You know those fancy houses on the water from a few pictures ago? Well from the front they look like this,
or this.
And on the "inland" side of the street - some really tall houses,
and some pretty flowers too.
Continuing along,
led me to more fancy real-estate,
obligatory Porsche SUV parked outside.
In these sorts of the suburbs, the views don't tend to be there for sharing,
but I did stumble on one street corner where I was able to snag a view of the city like an unsecured WiFi network.
From this point, it was a short but significantly leafy walk back to where the car was parked,
from where I was able to head on out of the suburb before someone caught me pirating their view.
Linley Point: Very pretty, if you can find it.
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