I have always thought that one of Sydney’s greatest assets is its proximity to stunning nature, as well as its beautiful weather! When we lived there, pre-children, we used to love to spend our weekends running or hiking along the gorgeous coastal trails, ideally finishing at a beautiful beach with a nice cafe for a cooling swim, some food and maybe a cheeky glass of wine. But as everyone with children knows living out our pre-children lives is not so easy once there are little ones in tow! Our eldest is now four and it is a bit of a tricky age for hiking as she is too big to be carried in a child carrier and not quite big enough to take on long distances on her own. But on our recent Easter time visit to Sydney we were really keen to walk the Spit to Manly Route so we decided to give it a go and see what happened. We knew there were always a few spots along the way we could find a road and catch a bus to the end if worst came to worst.

Starting the walk
The start of the walk is in the beautiful suburb of The Spit. The easiest way to get there is to catch a bus from Wynyard Station in the city.

I have always loved this part of Sydney. It is such a beautiful natural area perfect for kayaking, picnicking or simply daydreaming about the property you would buy if you were a millionaire (one of my favourite pastimes!). After toilet stops, applying sunscreen and a last minute snack and water stop we were on our way. Layla walking and little Etienne (15 months old) in the Ergo Carrier on my back. The walk is a fairly gentle path with some ups and downs and quite a lot of stairs but nothing too challenging and the scenery is stunning!

First stop Clontarf Beach
Our first stop (admittedly not too far from the start!) was Clontarf Beach and I think Layla would have been happy to stay here all day. There is an amazing playground, a fenced harbour pool and a great cafe. She quickly had her shoes and socks off and was busily playing in the playground. It took some convincing to get her walking again.

We continued walking, past pretty flowers, native foliage, across bridges, up and down stairs and past stunning properties with million-dollar views. Of course by this stage Layla was starting to get a little tired so talk turned to ice cream! It is amazing just how much mileage we can get out of talking, in depth, about the flavours of ice cream we will choose when we get to the treat at the end of our walk! We have used this trick many times before, and I am sure we’ll use it many times again.

The most stunning off-the-beaten track beaches
The only problem with this walk is wishing that you had time to just laze on one of the beautiful, non-crowded beaches and go for a swim in the inviting water! I’ve definitely mentally filed a few spots I’d like to return to with a picnic, my swimsuit, towel and a few free hours stretching in front of me.

Jumping up and down in muddy puddles
When attention spans were waning and Etienne was getting a little restless in the carrier we decided to turn off the path to visit the Aboriginal rock carvings. As kids do our two found the nearest muddy puddle and after distracting them with snacks and water we couldn’t keep them from indulging their playtime fantasies any longer. Let’s just say we were very happy that we made the last minute decision to pack extra clothes and that we had some plastic bags to store their muddy outfits and plenty of wet wipes to clean them up. The pure, innocent joy on their faces made the hassle worth while!

Back on the trail
By this time it was getting very late in the afternoon … and even the ice cream talk was failing to keep Layla motivated with the words, ‘I can’t go any further’ being heard on repeat. We realised that we had underestimated the length of the walk and it was more like 10km, not the 6-7km we had estimated. We pressed on, deciding that we would probably try to find the nearest road to catch a bus to Manly, but when we got to the nearest exit point we realised that it would probably be quickest and easiest to just keep going. Andy carried Layla some of the way, but essentially she made it to the end under her own steam. And, considering the walk from our Air BnB in Darlinghurst to Wynyard Station, this little lady’s legs walked at least 10km! We were so proud of her … and her ice cream was very, very well deserved!

We made it!
Just in case you are considering doing this walk, especially with little people, the nearest ice cream shop to the end of the walk is within the ferry terminal building. And one more tip, if like us, you happen to be in Manly on a very busy day and don’t fancy waiting the huge queue to catch the public ferry back to Circular Quay you can always skip the line up, pay a few extra dollars and ride the fast ferry home (you won’t regret spending the money, I promise!).