Alphington to Camberwell Walk

A scenic urban walk through the Darebin Parklands and along the Anniversary Trail, incorporating the superb new river crossing linking the Darebin Parklands to the Main Yarra Trail.
GRADE | LENGTH | TYPE: Medium 12km point-to-point walk (the medium rating is due to the distance plus one embankment ascent/descent).
MEETING TIME | LOCATION: Alphington Railway Station outside Platform 1.  Hurstbridge line train departs Flinders Street via the City Loop at 9:58am arriving at Alphington at 10:25am.
MAP REFERENCE: Melway map 31 grid C10; Google map goo.gl/maps/Dgu9aaLhM9Q2. 
DISTANCE | TIME FROM GPO: 11km, 30 minutes by train.
COST: Myki money – full fare capped at $6.30; concession fare capped at $3.15; Seniors free.
FOOD: Carry at least 1 litre of water, snacks, plus food for lunch.
APPAREL | FOOTWEAR: Layered clothing to match the weather forecast for a late winter’s day. Comfortable, stout walking boots/shoes, suitable for walking on formed bush tracks and walking tracks.
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: Departing from Alphington Station, the walk transverses Darebin Parklands through to Sparks Reserve then into Napier Waller Reserve.  At this point we will ascend an embankment to undertake an external inspection of the home and studio of the late Napier Waller.  The house features as a silent star of a recent TV series. Advisory: a hiking pole would be useful in particular for the ascent plus the descent.
Returning to the reserve, we take the newly opened path and bridge across the Yarra River into Kew.  Proceeding through parkland we connect up to the Anniversary Trail, which started life as the Outer Circle Railway.  The walk continues along this paved trail through East Kew, Balwyn, Deepdene, Canterbury and East Camberwell to terminate at Hartwell.
Lunch will be taken in one of the many parks that are integrated into the Trail.  Toilets and water bubblers are accessible in the later parts of the Trail.  At the conclusion of the walk, there is a choice of public transport to return home: Tram #75 on Toorak Road or Hartwell Station on the Alamein Line with a change at Camberwell.
FURTHER INFORMATION: For trail notes, go to Darebin Yarra Trail Link plus Outer Circle Rail Trail.
LEADER | BOOKING: Garry O. | by Thursday 23rd August. Email the Leader if you have any questions. Members can access leader contact details under the Members->Leader Contacts tab when logged in to the website.