This is a pleasant, easy walk along one of the original stone walls. It begins at the small oval
(Node N), an open playing area, east of Bandicoot Heaven, and it ends up at North Fort. Before
you set off, though, go through the hole in the wall, and walk down and back up the short steel
track that runs down the hill. Throughout autumn and winter 2020, there have consistently been
nine or more species in flower here.
Visitors need to realise that, apart from its later role as the army's School of Artillery, North
Head was also a major part of the port of Sydney's defences. In the 19th century, an attack on Sydney
would be by sea, and would involve an entry into one of the natural harbours of Sydney, Broken Bay
and Botany Bay, but the fact of the matter is that none of these defences ever fired a shot in anger.
For most of the way, you are travelling close to a wall, which in places still has the original defensive capping of broken glass, designed to make life difficult for any enemy attack intended to capture the guns and allow an enemy fleet to sail into Sydney Harbour without being minced up.
The mincing up, by the way, appears to have been a thought introduced to Sydney by Charkes Wilkes, who sailed in, unnoticed, one night in 1839, and declared that he could, had he so wanted, have minced up Sydney. This is a little-known incident, but you can read more about it here.
This is another of the fire trail walks, and it is also a designated bicycle path, but if you are riding a bicycle along it, there is a treacherous sandy patch at the bottom of the main slope, which can be seen in the second photo.
As you move up the slope, past the sandy patch, you can begin to see a weather reporting tower, complete with solar panels. Use this as a landmark, and when you get there, look on the eastern side. It is clearly in view in the third photo on the left, above.
The track on that side leads to a gap in the wall, that takes you to an observation post, and a track that goes down to the eastern side walk and the hanging swamp. The pictures on the left show you where it is hidden. Note that the observation post is fenced off, mainly for yoiur safety. Please stay out!
This walk is well worth doing, but if you are in need of food, drink, shelter or toilets, press on to North Fort (Node X).
This file is http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/nhead/walltrack.htm.
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The page was first created on 11 January 2019, and updated 2 August 2020.