Blue Mountains Journal

Time for us to take another walk in the bush but by special request from my husband it had to be near a coffee shop. So I chose the short circuit neat the old kiosk near the Katoomba Falls ... currently called the Arts Cafe.

So as I walk along our newly paved and streetscaped footpaths and notice old homes being treated with renewed respect I feel pleased but also a little sad that our down at heel little town is fast becoming a model of modern suburbia, something that has never been to my taste.   But I have to admit that people like me contributed to the gentrification process when we moved here 18 years ago. I spoke to a young mum pushing a stroller the other evening. She was thrilled with the smooth new paths.   I guess I will appreciate them too sometime in the future when I am driving along in my electric oldies cart.

There is no end to the new amenities in Lawson. Glass bus stops and the poshest public toilets in all the mountains.

The shops began to be demolished a year ago and they say the rest a due to go this week. The good news is that some of the new ones, set further back from the new road, are being built but we've had a lot of rain so I guess progress has been a little slower than hoped.

Douglas Square was always a little odd with its strange cement sculpture. Today the new "amphitheatre" is certainly neater but a bit too much cement for my taste.

The lamp erected in honour of the centenary of the first crossing of the mountains has been moved back a little with nice landscaping added. Can't complain about this result.

Two years ago they were fighting for the old Mechanics institute to be saved.  The battle was won with just the front portico removed but a year ago I was worrying that it looked very close to the widened highway.  As you can see all has come out out well.  The building itself will be refurbished over the next year.

Two years ago the church had been beautifully restored moved back on its block ready for the highway widening team to arrive. Last year things were getting very chaotic. And now order has been restored with turf laid, gardens and trees planted and edges all neat and tidy.

Yesterday our local member of parliament opened Stage 1 of the highway upgrade through Lawson. It was a rare sunny day so the local citizens donned hats, slapped on sun screen and put in the sunnies to go hear the speeches and join in the free sausage sizzle. The highway is by no means finished but it is year since I provided a Lawson update  Some of you may remember that the widening of the highway through Lawson has been highly contentious because of the loss of heritage so for the next few posts I will be showing before and after shots so you can assess for yourself how things are going.

We had visitors over the weekend so I didn't get a chance to go out for a drive or walk.  If I had done so, this is what I would have been looking for, the king of the wildflowers. There will be a short blog break until I get a chance to collect some more photos.

Like me, these weekend people were exhausted from wandering around the huge Mayfield Garden.  I would like to visit again one day but not until it has more years to grow into its space.  I guess at heart I like our ancient forests and my wild old garden better.  So it's back to the bush with my next series of posts.

But as always it is the simple natural shapes and colours that appeal to me most.

Extensive water gardens are the current area of development.

View from the mansion.

A huge house to go with the huge garden.

Anyone who follows my garden blog Burnbrae Journal will know how much mowing the grass disturbs me (the grass is always getting too long).  This place would be my worst nightmare.  But isn't the green of the countryside just awesome at the moment -- it was raining again on the day of our visit.