04/12/2024. Cleghorn Street to Signal Hill Monument . Grade 3. Hikers. Leaders: Maria McNee and Peter Dodds.
Only 3 cars left from Peter Johnston car park on what was promising to be a sweltering day.
Everyone was very happy to find a lovely cooling breeze from the harbour and some high cloud cover at our rendezvous point with the town and Brighton crew at the bottom of Cleghorn St.
Our 15 strong crew made short work of the first hill and as we proceeded upwards through dairy farmland were rewarded very quickly with wonderful views of the harbour to the north and all around.
Spectacular cloud formations completed the picturesque scenes.
An old quarry provided rest and a little shelter for morning tea then it was up towards our goal- a stand of pine close to the summit and from there an easy walk over to the Early Settlers Monument for lunch.
After lunch three hikers took the option of going down Signal Hill Rd to Blacks Rd and on down to the NEV intersection with a plan to meet us at the Black’s Store and Cafe on the corner, while the remaining twelve returned to the cars back the way we had come, most of us agreed the first hill on the return walk was a bit of a grunt!
Distance walked approximately 8 kms. 4 other hikers who had chosen to do less challenging alternative walk around Woodhaugh and surrounds, also joined us for refreshments at Black’s where we enjoyed a chance to peruse the quirky surroundings and do some Christmas shopping or browsing.
Link to background information and earlier tramps and hikes in the same area.