Burwood Excursion

Burwood Station

Day of Travel: Sunday, November 12, 2017

I'm rather fond of an outing, in no small part because I like the word 'outing', but I have decided that the Off the Rails project shall instead be 'excursions'. The preface of The Railway Guide of New South Wales states it's purpose as being "a convenient volume of reference for excursionists and others who travel by Railway in New South Wales" - and I so enjoyed the thought of being a habitual excursionist!

And so, while this is not my first Off the Rails excursion, it is the first on the blog (I'll catch up on the others when I get a chance). Let's start by taking a look at what the Guide has to say about Burwood.


From the Guide

Burwood Station, 7 miles; 68 feet above sea level. - After passing Croydon platform, the railway traveller will at first only see a continuation of such scenery as he has been observing between Ashfield and Croydon. Nevertheless (just before he arrives at the prosperous village of Burwood) he may catch a passing view of the Congregational Church to the right, near the Burwood station; and he may likewise - beyond that pretty little ecclesiastical edifice - observe the Anglican Church on the Parramatta Road, with a good view of Balmain and the North Shore hills in the distance. To the left he will doubtless notice another handsome Anglican Church (which an adjacent school-house) on Burwood heights; also more bush scener, presenting a series of gardens and woodland glades. Near Burwood, on the line, he may likewise get a hasty glimpse to the north-west of the hill country near Parramatta. The passenger traffic at Burwood is largely fed by the residents of Enfield and Bankstown on the one side, and of the district between Burwood and the south bank of the Parramatta River on the other. Appointed time from Sydney to Burwood usually about twenty-four minutes.


The Excursion

I didn't really have much of a plan for a Sunday excursion when I got up this morning, but on putting out the call to a few people, Jo came through with a suggestion for a breakfast venture (always a win in my book). "Head to Burwood!" she said. And so off I went.

Unfortunately, I did forget to look out for the 'ecclesiastical edifice' of the Congregational Church when I arrived, but I couldn't let that lovely turn of phrase go unexplored, so here's the church in all it's (old and new) glory.



Once off the train I headed off towards Burwood Park... but not before seeing one of my favourite road signs ever, the one pointing to the library. Naturally I took a little detour and headed in completely the wrong direction, all in the name of adding another library to my global library visit map. And you know, it was quite a nice library! I took a few sneaky photos to put in my ideas folder, and absolutely adored the children's reading nook (always the best part of the library, in my opinion).


Burwood Library 1

Burwood Library 2


After the little library putter, I redirected back to my original destination. Jo had suggested a visit to 'The Picnic', a cafe in the middle of Burwood Park. It was a lovely cafe! So bright and airy, and just the right level of busy. It was the kind of cafe where, upon entering, you immediately wished you had bought someone else along so you could point out some of the prettier details.



The Picnic 1

The Picnic 4

The Picnic 7

The Picnic 5

The Picnic 6

The Picnic 3

The Picnic 2



After a delicious breakfast (I channeled Katie's love of a breakfast burger for some reason) I went on a leisurely stroll through the park - which was everything I want a park to be. There were people playing musical instruments, people doing tai chi, some dancers performing on a bandstand, and these hypnotising ribbon gymnasts (artists? people just playing with ribbon?)

Burwood Park


I sat in the park for a bit, watched the ribbons, found some ducks, got scared off by an overly confident wedge of ibises (did you know that the collective noun for ibises was a 'wedge'? I do love a good collective noun). I even helped a lady perpetuate her faux Instagram life by taking a photo of her 'exercising' - she literally stood in one pose long enough for me to take the photo and then she left the park - so basically, that was my dodgy good dead for the day.

Knowing that I had less fun teacherly plans for the afternoon, I started to head home... but not before accidentally walking past a Breadtop, which is my weakness. While there, picking out two or three hundred pieces of bready goodness, I discovered a ridiculously loud pounding coming from the other side of the wall. Eager to put off marking just a little longer, I went to investigate.

I followed the sound until it was so loud it was making my ears ring despite my over-the-ear headphones. Completely worth it though, because how impressive are these guys?

Burwood Westfield

In a world where I find it completely possible (inevitable) to trip over my own shadow, their level of coordination seems completely unfair.

Sadly, all excursiony excitement was, at this point, over. Homeward bound I was, glad to have crossed another station off the list.



Disclaimer: All text and images in this post are either my own work or being mused under Creative Commons.

2 comments:

  1. That sounds like the best morning: good food, a cute cafe, a park, a library! It's always nice to be reminded that I'm not the only one who takes side trips into every library and bookstore I come across (I'm marginally better about yarn stores...just.)

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    1. It was totally the best morning! You'd be a good wandering partner - we could go to all the nice places.

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