7 minute read
My Favourite Walk: Western Loop Walkway for
Western Loop Walkway for bush, river
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Located within easy reach of the Stratford town centre the 6.5 hectacre, King Edward Park is an ideal sanctuary to experience countless varieties of plants, ma- By Judy Evature trees, birdlife, fast flowing mountain streams and a variety of walks.
To mark the coronation of King Edward V11 in 1902, a variety of trees and a suspension bridge were planned to span the Patea River between the Page Street reserves and town centre.
The planted area became known as King Edward’s Park and later the reserves on both sides of the river were incorporated into the park.
Today the park encompasses, a holiday park, swimming pool complex, playing fields, netball courts, children’s playground, duck pond and restrooms.
There is the McCullough Rhododendron Dell, with a selection of hybrids, azaleas, hydrangeas, and native exotic shrubs and trees and a pond to name a few of the many attractions to be found in this beautiful park.
Rhododendron plants from the Exbury Estate in Southhampton were planted in the 1950’s along
Above left Entrance to the park. Above right: Swing bridge beginning of walk.
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open farmland
with seeds from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The dell is named after a Parks and Reserves Committee Chairman Edward Wallace McCullough.
The main access is through the historic Malone Gates on the corner of Fenton and Portia Streets off the main highway S.H 3 Broadway. Usually plenty of parking. The concrete gates were built in 1923 as a tribute to Colonel William George from the Malone who was killed at Chunuk Bair in 1915.
Nearby a commemorative lone pine tree was planted in 1968 with a seedling from Gallipoli’s Lone Pine Ridge. The park also has several other points of interest, including the Centennial Rest Room built in 1949.
There are several different walking tracks in this park, and we had picked The Western Loop as we had heard that it had different areas of interest such as bush, river, and open farmland scenes
We started off at the entrance to the park through the main gate and had difficulty finding the start of the walk due to lack of signage as there
Above right: The open area of the farm track. Below right: Entering the start to the fence boundary track.
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are so many different paths and confusing direction to anything. With the help of a local walker we were pointed in the correct direction.
Once inside the gates take the path that veers right, past some buildings on your right hand side and further along you will see a small narrow red swing bridge over a stream on your left.
Cross this and turn right following the track through the trees and bush for quite a way enjoying the different happy bird songs until you come to a fork that should have on it the Western Loop Track.
The arrow points as if to continue straight through. You need to cross the bridge and turn left following along that track where you will have beautiful views of the river. The track is uneven in places. You will exit onto a hill and open farmland.
From here the signage is spasmodic but at least helpful. Turning left the narrow track on your right follows the complete outside of the farm boundary fence along a tree and bush track for quite a distance.
It is very uneven and narrow with exposed tree roots all the way along this first part, if you are lucky you will have a beautiful view of Mt Taranaki on your right over the fence line across the farmland. It was shrouded in cloud the day when we did the walk so missed out.
The track follows around the fence line on the outskirts of the farm and along a lovely grass path sheltered by a large hedge. Keep on this turning right, again following the fence line along to where it veers left down into another narrow track.
You will across a small bridge and exit out onto a dirt farm track. Crossing this track you will enter more bush.
There is a gate to go through thankfully with the signage Western Loop telling you are heading in the correct direction.
You are nearing the end of the walk, over another small bridge and this is where it becomes confusing again. Exiting onto a main well used and wide path back into the main park, it forks left and right but no signage at all. Either way would lead you back to the main park eventually.
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Above left: Crossing over the farm track to enter through the gate into the bush again. The gate is actually signposted. Above right: This is the part where you cross the river to get to the farmland. The sign arrow points ahead but you turn left over the bridge.
After exploring both options took the left, crossed a couple of bridges followed the track around, where we discovered the other end of the Western Loop.
If you wished you could start the loop at this end at the Brecon Road Car Park. This cuts out starting at the main gates as we did.
The end of our walk took us back through the rhododendron dell. The rhododendrons had finished flowering but the dell is still worth the stroll.
This track is also suitable for joggers and is dog friendly.
A 3.5 km walk that borders the Patea River, and has many different bird songs in the bush. It is almost like a lovely slightly hidden secret. It can be muddy in wet weather and I would grade it medium due to uneven ground, exposed roots and narrow tracks.
There are many entrances to this large park from surrounding streets, and any of them will lead you to the walk you prefer. The help of locals if you are confused is a good idea. We never realized just how large this park was and is worth exploring if in the area.
Situated in the middle of Stratford township it is certainly worth the time. The walk took us approximately two hours but can be done in a shorter time, as we stopped to take photos and dawdled admiring the scenery.
Hopefully the signage for this particular walk will be improved as it has been conveyed to the department that handles parks and reserves that it is totally inadequate especially at the start.
Below left: The other side of the farm land towards more bush. Below right: Back through the Rhododendron Dell, at the end of the walk.
