Blue Mountains Journal

The old cement "candle" was destroyed , but behind the old shops a new town square has been built. It's attractive and functional linking together community buildings and preserves some older heritage buildings. We are all looking forward to seeing the new town that will eventually emerge. I'll be back with another progress report when things move on a bit more, probably a year away. That's it for this series. Over at Sweet Wayfaring I'm beginning a very hot day trip to Mudgee today.

But it's not all loss along the shopping strip at Lawson. A year ago I showed you modern additions being removed from the Blue Mountain Hotel . Here is the beautiful swan emerging from the ugly duckling.

With all the digging, demolishing and building going on at Lawson there is plenty of waiting for through travellers and locals alike. Today City Daily Photo bloggers are blogging on the theme of waiting. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

I took the top shot of the shopping strip a month ago, just in the nick of time. The shot below is how it looks today. The shops have not been saved. Several at the the top end of the strip have been knocked down and the ones at the bottom end will go sometime in the future.

A year ago residents were fighting to save the old Mechanics Institute building . It was saved with only its portico being removed and is to be reconstructed as a side entrance. Mmmm ... the new road looks mightly close to the front wall.

Last year I showed you the little church beautifully restored and moved back on it's block to make room for the road. Well today the road is on it's way and moving ahead at great speed. Things don't look quite so Village Green around here right now ... so don't expect the photos of the next few days to be pretty.

In September last year I reported that the Roads and Traffic Authority was set to begin the highway widening through Lawson. Well it took a few more months then the juggernaut arrived. Over the next week I'll give you a progress report, a story of wins and losses.

After afternoon tea we left the same way we arrived, via the sweeping driveway which is lined with manicured garden beds and at this time of year rhododendrons in full bloom. Well that's it for this visit to the Everglades garden. I'm starting a new trip out west over at Sweet Wayfaring today.

We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon tea in the garden.  Scones, jam and cream served with tea is known as Devonshire Tea in Australia and is a popular choice in tourist cafes.

There is a neat kitchen garden beside the house and a pretty border with columbines.

Urns and sculptures provide points of interest throughout the garden. The caretaker told us the wrought iron windows have a story in them ... the dog chasing a peacock, the owner chasing the dog with a golf stick and there are other panels continuing the story around the courtyard.

An attractive 1930s house is a focal point in the garden, with sweeping terraces and views.

Ivy can be a terrible menace in the garden but not when it's neatly clipped like that ... I'm in awe.

Come, let's explore more of the garden.

The reflection pond on the Studio Terrace was looking particularly lovely, bordered with a golden hedge and water iris in flower.

Like every good garden there are any number of delighful places to rest and enjoy the peaceful green.

Paul Sorenson, was the landscape designer of the Everglades, the signature of his work are the perfect dry stone walls that meander and curve throughout the garden. For a bit of fun, I've decided to run a comparison of this grand garden with my wild plot over at Burnbrae Journal. As I've just finished a series on weeds that infest my garden you can expect the parallels will be somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

As promised I am back to show you more of the lovely Everglades gardens. I did a series on the garden in Autumn 2007 but unlike in the northern hemisphere where autumn is currently in full swing here we are revelling in the delights of spring. One of the interesting features of the Everglades is the way it marries a formal exotic garden with the natural Australian bush ... green lawns and clipped hedges give way to tall eucalypts and twiggy native plants thrusting through bare earth. And being in the mountains also cliff top views beautifully framed in the formal garden.

The most famous doorway in the Blue Mountains is this one in the Everglades gardens. It was originally the entrance to the London Chartered Bank of Australia and was moved stone by stone and reassembled in this beautiful garden where it forms the frame for a fountain. In the words of their website "Everglades is one of Australia’s foremost heritage gardens. This treasure from the 1930s sits in twelve and a half acres of European-style gardens and native Australian bush with breathtaking views over the Jamison Valley in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains." I'll be back to show you more of this famous garden in a week or so after I finish the train trip to Dubbo which is currently running over at Sweet Wayfaring . "Doorways" is this months theme day for the City Daily Photo community. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Lawson Railway Station Every morning at around 8:30am the Countrylink XPT train to Dubbo passes through Lawson. As it sounds different from the normal Intercity trains, for the past 16 years my husband has said, "That's the XPT" or "Hear that?" and I've responded "We'll catch that one day." Well the day arrived a couple of weeks ago. The trip began with us catching the regular train from Lawson to Katoomba where the XPT stops to pick up passengers. Over at Sweet Wayfaring ,you will find me waiting impatiently at Katoomba station. We'll also be doing the rest of trip over there.

And it was time for us to pack up and go home.

Spring is garden festival time. Over the next few days I'm going to show some of the things on offer at the Leura Village fair. Look to the left or look to the right ... there was plenty to see.

After a hard day's bush walking, shopping and eating there is time for one last glance at the view. That's it for people shots for a while. I've learnt a lot from this first foray and will try some more in the future. In the meanwhile its back to the beach over at Sweet Wayfaring today. Echo Point, Katoomba

As the day begins to slow to a close the waitresses take a well-earned tea break at the Megalong Valley Tea Rooms . Megalong Valley

A little further up the mountain buskers entertain the tourists and weekend shoppers. Katoomba St, Katoomba.

Or perhaps a cup of tea and sandwich in the park with a friend is more your style. Leura Cascades

Leura is also the perfect spot for a lazy start to the day with a wonderful selection of cafes like the Leura Gourmet. Leura

Stairway to Kevin is a well known music store upstairs in Leura Mall. I believe its specialty is folk and world music so perhaps not to the taste of this couple. Leura

If the up-market clothing and giftware is beyond your means, don't worry you are sure to find something affordable to delight you at the Leura Lolly Shop . Leura

If bush walking isn't your thing then shopping is a good alternative. Leura

I am starting a new series, showing you some of people who visit and live in the mountains ... and taking my first faltering steps with street photography. Most visitors to the mountains begin at a map, choosing a walking track to follow. Wentworth Falls

The sunny day had given way to misty rain so it was time to go back home. Heading back to the car I noticed this hardenbergia vine twining across the path, spring is about to explode in the forest. But first, we're going on a Sweet Wayfaring adventure by the sea ... see you over there.

At last we found a road with an interesting end. Here we are on the edge of the escarpment looking to the Nepean River. The eastern edge of the mountains.

We're in the lower mountains where the temperature is warmer. It's interesting to compare the type of forest here to say here or here which are upper mountains tracks. We followed the track a long way but the quality began to deteriorate and not knowing if the destination was worth it, we decided to back off.