Skipton Rail Trail - Nuggety Gully, Linton State Forest Circuit - 12.6 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 198

Hike Report by Jan

With the weather forecast looking a bit ominous 7 hikers set off from the Linton Recreation Reserve wearing raincoats and with an eye on the sky. But as is usual on our hikes the day was dry and just the right temperature for a wander in the countryside.

About 100 m along the path we stopped at the toilets at what had been the Linton station. Someone who shall remain nameless couldn’t get the door to unlock and was worried that they’d have to climb out of the window.

Without further mishaps we set off along the rail trail which was pretty and passed through cuttings and embankments and was shaded by tall eucalypts. After about a kilometre we crossed a bridge and then stopped further along after leaving the track to have a look at a dam. There was a wooden structure with huge wooden uprights which we decided was probably where water was pumped from the dam and then up into a wooden trough and fed into a water race which snaked through the bushland.

Walking was mostly along 4WD tracks and sandy paths. At the top of a hill Gordon told us there was an adit down the other side and said he would wait if anyone wanted to go and look at it. We were clever enough to realise that that would mean climbing back up the hill afterwards so there were no takers for this particular adventure. The vegetation was fairly scrubby and we noticed some pink and white heath every now and again. As we kept walking there was more and more heath until the undergrowth became a mass of pink and white flowers. It was very pretty indeed.

In Nuggety Gully there were mullock heaps and holes in the ground to remind us that this area had been mined. I guess the name of the gully also gave us a clue! We ended up following a faint path through the bush and coming out on to the Skipton Rail Trail not too far from the Linton station and our cars. We enjoyed chatting and eating lunch and appreciated the absence of rain.

As usual it was a very enjoyable walk with great company and conversation. Thanks Gordon for planning this hike :-)

Photos by Andrew


















Where's Wally?


LINKS



Comments

  1. Janet29 May 2022 at 20:45

    Magical! No wonder Wally has found a spot there.

    ReplyDelete

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