Mosman Park Heritage Trail with Russell Brown Adventure Playground
Updated: Mar 10, 2020
It was a cool summers's morning when we met at Keane's Point Reserve in Peppermint Grove. The kids had a little play on the playground while the adults got their coffee fix at Freshwater's cafe (great location and excellent coffee) before we set off along part of the Mosman Park Heritage Trail. Walking along the Mosman Bay Foreshore we appreciated the stunning views out across the Swan River. We came to a brief steep climb up the hill at Mosman Bay Park but were rewarded with spectacular views from Bay View Park upriver to the city skyline and the hills beyond.
We followed the footpath along Owston Street enjoying looking at all the beautiful homes in this area and then turned left onto Wellington Street following the outskirts of the golf course.
Our group split at this point as some of our little legs weren't as fast as the others and we missed the detour to Chidley Point Reserve Lookout at Caporn Street. We continued on along the surburban paths until we came to a lovely boardwalk right on the edge of the river before arriving at the old Cottesloe Refinery site.
From there it was only a short walk around the corner to the Russell Brown Adventure Playground. The walk from Keane's Point had taken about an hour at small kid's pace. We had in mind to play Nature Play WA's Bingo along the way but the phone screens were quite hard to read. Next time we will print a sheet out, take the photos and upload them when it is easier to see the screen.
The kids loved the playground which has loads of hidden activities. It was almost kid free while we were there so they had the run of the giant swinging rope, the cubby, the climbing trees, ropes and swings. Of course the running water in the stream was the most popular activity. Parking can be found at the nearby Tennis Courts but will be limited on days when they hold lessons or tournaments. If you don't mind a short walk (not as far as we ventured) there is parking at Tom Perrott Reserve and there were a few bays along Marshall Street.
After a play we set off back up Stone Street, around Ladner Park and onto Owston Street which took us back around the golf course and to where we had turned off earlier at Wellington Street, This route, although hotter as the breeze off the water was missing, was a little shorter and our return walk only took about 35-40 minutes.
Back at Keane's Point we had a picnic lunch on the grass before the kids explored the little beach area. They loved hunting for shells in the shallow water and had a splash around before it was time to head home.
The walk was a great combination of walking and play for the kids so everyone was happy!
The is 10.5 km so we chose to only do a small section of it.
They publish a very good map which highlights the easy and steep sections and there are plenty of toilet and rest stops along the way. https://www.mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/community/local-history/the-mosman-park-heritage-trail
A few years later we explored parts of the Mosman Park Heritage Trail from Mt Lyell to the Russell Brown Adventure Park. This was a much shorter walk (20 minutes each way) to get to the playground and had the bonus of the passing the Spider Sculpture Park.
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