Seven Bridges Walk
Savour Sydney's sparkling waterways and industrial ambitions on the Seven Bridges Walk. It's already being tipped to one day rival the City to Surf run.
By Sarah Norris
Although only in its third year, the Seven Bridges Walk is already being tipped to one day rival the popularity of the City to Surf run. On Sunday, 26 October, more than 10,000 Sydneysiders are expected to stride, stroll or foot-slog their way around the 25km bridges walk, which takes in both world-famous, harbour-spanning bridges as well as lesser-known constructions, by way of some of the city's rarely frequented nooks.
The walk was created by the Pedestrian Council of NSW to promote the benefits of good health through walking while raising money for four major charities – the Heart Foundation, Beyond Blue, Diabetes Australia and the Cancer Council. Last year 6,000 people participated, with 75 per cent of them finishing the entire 25-kilometre course.
The beauty of the event lies in its ease of access. By utilising existing pathways, walkers skirt the inner metropolitan region of the city, starting and finishing at any of seven all-purpose 'villages' along the route. Checkpoints double as registration desks, drink and food stations, and entertainment hubs.
PCA chairman Harold Scruby says the walk is especially worhtwhile in our eco-friendly times – "a good initiative to lessen our reliance on cars, and the easiest way to help reverse the increasing trends of sedentary behaviour and obesity."
1 Sydney Harbour Bridge
From the moment of its madcap opening by sword-bearing, ribbon-slashing loon Captain Francis De Groot, right up to last year's 75th anniversary celebrations, Sydney's beloved Coathanger has encapsulated Australia's progress as a nation and our assimilation of industry into the landscape. As you walk its length, ponder these amazing facts: the Bridge took 1,400 men eight years to build (16 of whom lost their lives doing so) and utilised 53,000 tonnes of steel and six million hand-driven rivets at a cost of £4.2 million.
2 Pyrmont Bridge
Now a pedestrian bridge linking the city with busy Darling Harbour and the eat street of King Street Wharf (it's also crossed by the elevated oddity that is the monorail), Pyrmont Bridge is the oldest electric swing span bridge in the world and has been recognised by Engineers Australia as a "national engineering landmark". Who knew?
3 Iron Cove Bridge
With its distinctive piers and abutments reflecting the inter-war Art Deco style, the 69-year-old "Iron Maiden" was the last steel truss bridge to be constructed in NSW before high strength bolts were introduced replacing good old-fashioned rivets. The bridge offers gorgeous views of the waters off Birkenhead Point.
4 ANZAC Bridge
Opened as Glebe Island Bridge in 1996 as the longest cable-stayed bridge in Australia at a cost of $170 million, ANZAC Bridge was renamed as a memorial to the ANZACs in 2000 when a four-metre bronze statue of a World War I digger was placed on the western end with a handful of sand from Gallipoli placed under his foot. However, in doing so they rendered obsolete a wonderful piece of Sydney rock'n'roll iconography. Still, You Am I's 'Purple Sneakers', with its beloved refrain: "Had a scratch only you could itch/Underneath the Glebe Point Bridge" will make a fine beat to walk to this weekend. The first Glebe Island Bridge was an electrically operated swing bridge that opened on the spot in 1901.
5 Gladesville Bridge
The original Gladesville Bridge was built during the 1880 Sydney bridge building spree (when the Glebe Island, Pyrmont and Iron Cove Bridges were also completed). Before then, Sydneysiders had to use punts and a ferry service to cross the mighty Parramatta River – including the rope-hauled ferry service that ran between Abbotsford and Gladesville. Re-opened by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, in 1964, it was once the world's longest single-span concrete arch bridge.
6 Tarban Creek Bridge
Tarban Creek Bridge opened in 1965, linking the suburbs of Hunters Hill and Huntleys Point – drivers no longer had to negotiate the back streets of Hunters Hill to get over the creek. Originally planned as one of three bridges linking the city with the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway, the other two were prevented by protestors seeking to protect the lush Lane Cove valley.
7 Fig Tree Bridge
The current girder Fig Tree Bridge opened in September 1963 spanning the Lane Cove River and connecting the suburbs of Linley Point and Hunters Hill. Traces of the original Bridge, which was built in 1885, can still be seen at the end of Joubert Street, and the wheel that once operated the opening span stands in memorial.
Seven Bridges Walk is on Sun 26 Oct, 8am–5pm, leaving from any of the seven villages. (1300 882 592) Entry by donation