Springwood


Famous for its bushwalks and the nearby home of Australian artist, Norman Lindsay, Springwood is the second-largest town in the Blue Mountains.

Location: 74 km from Sydney and 371 m above sea-level.

Lookouts: at the end Yellow Rock Rd. is Yellow Rock Lookout which offers excellent views of the Nepean River below.

The Macquarie Memorial, erected at Springwood in 1938 by the Royal Australian Historical Society, celebrates this event as the naming of the first town in the Blue Mountains, although it must be remembered that Macquarie was actually naming a locality as there was no settlement at that time.

Springwood has some interesting old buildings, most of which are in Macquarie Street.


Norman Lindsay's House: Between Springwood and Faulconbridge is one of the most famous attractions in the mountains - the house where the acclaimed Australian artist and author Norman Lindsay lived. The house, at the end of Chapman Parade, and has been turned into a gallery and the grounds have been preserved perfectly. Some streets have been given names from some of the characters out of Lindsay's famous children's book The Magic Pudding. These include "Bill Barnacle Avenue", "Watkin Wombat Way" and more.

Fairy Dell: for bushwalkers, one of the attractions of Springwood is the Fairy Dell which is located no more than ten minutes from the railway station. The walk can last for forty minutes and come out at Picnic Point or continue for an hour and reach Lawson's Lookout. The ferns, native plants and peaceful bush settings are delightful.


Sassafras Gully Reserve: this reserve is sandwiched between two portions of the Blue Mountains National Park. From the end of Farm Rd, which runs off Burns Rd, is Martins Park which is the starting point of a walk to Martins Lookout in the Reserve. Slightly further west, another track heads south from Picnic Point Reserve (end of Valley Rd). It follows the passage of Magdala Creek to, and beyond, Magdala Falls. A third track follows the course of Sassafras Gully Creek. It can be joined by heading south along Victoria Track from the starting point near the highway in Faulconbridge. This course takes in Clarinda Falls. Two other tracks, which start in Springwood, intersect with Victoria Track.



Walks
Track notes, maps etc. of the walks featured are on the Wildwalks app.

Springwood to Faulconbridge: Time: 5 hrs. 1.3 km E of Springwood. Length: 11.5 km. Blue Mountains National Park. Climb: 633 m

This pleasent walk takes in the sights of two fantastic Blue Mountains valleys. The walk down from Springwood Station uses Magdala Gully to pass a number of waterfalls before visiting Perch Ponds. The walk then follows Glenbrook Creek valley up to Faulconbridge Station for the return home. A quiet walk with a sense of remoteness. If you want to make this an overnight walk you can camp at Perch Ponds where there is a simple bushcamp, a good introduction to overnight walking.

Faulconbridge to Blaxland: Time: 2 Days. 0.4 km NNE of Faulconbridge. Length: 15.2 km. Blue Mountains National Park. Climb: 693 m

This two-day walk, or very solid one-day walk, takes you from station to station, through lush, scenic forest in the lower Blue Mountains. The walk follows the upper section of Glenbrook Creek most of the way to Blaxland, with a venture over the St Helena Ridge to add some views. An enjoyable two-day walk exploring the diverse range of gully and rocky ridge-top

environments in the lower Blue Mountains. Brief history
In 1816 Governor Macquarie had the military depot moved from Glenbrook Lagoon to Springwood. These simple barracks were built near the present site of the monument and remained until 1845. Like all the settlements in the Blue Mountains, Springwood really started to develop after the arrival of the railway in 1867. Easy access rendered the Blue Mountains a fashionable watering hole and holiday resort in the 1880s.

With a population of a few hundred people and a reputation for a cool climate and plenty of rural charm it was hardly surprising that the Illustrated Sydney News described the village in the following terms: 'One's first impressions of Springwood are exceedingly pleasant, and we can honestly state that subsequent explorations only serve to confirm them.

'Pausing at the station, which, by the way, is one of the prettiest upon the line, and quite in harmony with its surroundings, one's eye rests upon a road of a warm red colour and sidewalks shaded with the dense blue-grey foliage of turpentine trees, the scene flanked at each side with cosy buildings of wood and stone. Even the police-station exhibits a display of taste, and everything seems in harmony.'

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