It was an overcast day with rain forecast but we grabbed our rain jackets and set off from Noggos Kitchen and Coffee on Peninsula Road in Maylands. We headed along Wall Street and then Swan View Terrace until we found the entrance to the Baigup (Place of Rushes) Wetlands. A shared path runs through these lovely wetlands (check accessibility after winter rain) and there are some lovely views across to Kaljuk (Black Swan) Island.
Along the way you might spot Eric as this walk covers part of the Swan River Ramble. If you have a QR code reader you can read the QR codes along the way to discover more about the different locations.
After crossing under Garrett Road Bridge and passing the giant pelican in the Garrett Road Park playground we continued into Bayswater Riverside Gardens which is a massive grassed park area on the shores of the Swan River. There is a large fenced playground, toilets, a mobile coffee van and some gazebos. There are also lots of dogs off lead. This is a favourite dog exercise park as the dogs can run around on the grass or splash around in the river. This is also the finishing point for the famous Avon Descent in August.
We headed to the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary and did the quick loop inside where we saw some quirky statues and listened to lots of different frog noises on the wind up frog wheel. We listened to the motorbike frog, the moaning frog and the turtle frog among others.
After retracing our steps back to the Garrett Street Bridge we crossed over to the Ascot side and wandered past Ascot Racecourse, turning right at Waterway Crescent. (You can detour here to walk to Garvey Park along the river.) There are markers along the way from Baigup to Riverside Gardens and on this side too to point you in the right direction. We followed the markers to Freshwater Lake which is a beautiful garden in the Ascot Waters development. From here you can also cross over the river and walk the loop around Kaljuk Island. There is also road access to Kaljuk Island so you could park and have a wander around.
We backtracked past the boat inlet and back along Garrett Road Bridge and headed back to our cars. At a solid pace this walk (11km) took us 2.5 hours from our starting point at Noggos. The path is flat and wide and provides universal access so is easy for prams and kids on scooters or bikes. Part of the path is dual use so be careful of bikes. We had to make a small detour at Ascot Waters Marina to find a ramp to get around the steps.
I would recommend parking at Riverside Gardens, walking around the Bird Sanctuary and then walk from there through the Baigup Wetlands and return. You could head across the Garrett Road Bridge as a side trip and walk around Black Swan (Kaljuk) Island, or alternatively, drive to Kaljuk Island and have a walk around before crossing to the mainland to visit Freshwater Lake. This would break the walk down into two 1 hour walks.
Since posting this blog we have completed walks around the Maylands Peninsula including Lakes Brearley, Bungana and Brickworks, Kuljak Island and Ascot Waters including Freshwater Lake and have also walked the southern section of the Swan River Ramble from Ascot Waters to Balbuk Reserve and from Ascot to Garvey Park. Click on the links to read more about these walks.
While you are in the area you could also get a taste of history and urban art on the Bayswater Heritage Trail.
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In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.