Sheep Station Gully

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Posted 2017-03-17 by Jane Wong ⇒ follow

Located in the suburb of Algester, is a hidden gem of a walking path that takes you through a secret forest, complete with old billabongs and flanked by more than one children's playground. Nestled amidst a highly residential area, literally along a street of family homes, it's no surprise that is a hidden gem that only locals know about - that is, until now! As a bit of fun history for you, the suburb's name comes from a corruption of the English town "Alcester" - this area has been known as such since 1972, although it was colloquially named Ridgewood Heights briefly in the mid to late 1970s.

The start of the 2.5km round loop can be accessed via Nottingham Road - there are plenty of free street parks on either side of this road. The entrance is marked by a beautiful green and beige arbour that is hard to miss - you won't have to worry about accidentally driving past the access point! From there, the walk begins with a short shady stretch of boardwalk, flanked by a seemingly endless forest of lush and green tall trees. When the boardwalk splits into two, take the left path and continue straight on. After a short stint on the boardwalk, you should soon reach a clearing with a single paved path.

Here, you will find a map telling you where you are - congratulations for making it to Billabong Place Park via the Algester/Parkinson Bikeway! Continue straight on for about a minute and you will be able to spot a children's playground to your right, complete with the cutest helicopter ride. This playground is fairly large, with plenty of different play equipment to suit different ages, interests, and physical activity levels. It's a great place for a break should you need one, in addition to of course being a great stopping point for the little ones to burn off some of their seemingly endless energy! The entire playground area is floored by soft bark, so there's no worries about your children playing too energetically and wind up hurting themselves.

Keep plodding along the well-maintained paths shaded by large trees, and soon you'll encounter mini bridges across running billabongs - it truly is a sight to behold.

And now for the final stretch! Keep following the loop around back towards where you first started - but wait, there's just one more pit stop to make before you call it a day, none other than yet another children's playground. Your kids will love you for bringing them here! Plus, there are picnic tables and benches available here; it's a nice spot for a bite to eat after a relaxing stroll through , and the perfect way to end a day out with family and friends.