Discovering Glenreagh

Experiencing a sense of discovery requires both ignorance and curiosity; a recognition that you know very little combined with a desire to explore. Merely visiting somewhere for the first time does not on its own generate the feeling of discovery, the place itself must seem undiscovered, with none of the obvious trappings of tourism; the tacky gift shops, the clichéd cafes and the overpriced restaurants.

I’ve discovered Glenreagh, and I’ll tell you little enough about it so you can too.

It might seem conceited to say I’ve discovered a place in which people are already living, and have done for some time, but I’m claiming my discovery for myself rather than for all mankind. Re-discovery is more accurate, as I was here many years ago to climb.

I won’t say Glenreagh is a pretty little town, but it’s certainly unobtrusive. Being in the hinterland it’s neither here nor there, not coastal or mountains or rural, with the feel of being a long way from anywhere. Glenreagh is surrounded by forested hills, and the Orara River, tree lined and clear, flows past unnoticed by the town.

It’s growing, which is a good sign, with a new sub-division on the edge of town, unfortunately being filled with the awful houses known as Modern Australian, thankfully though they don’t detract too much from the older houses. Even so, Glenreagh is not much bigger than it was 100 years ago.

Shopping is not something the people who live around here do in their own town, there being few opportunities, but if you like to start your day with a coffee and end it with a beer then you won’t be disappointed. The coffee comes from a great little bakery selling the best pies & pastries – the line for which often runs out onto the street; the beer coming from the one pub in town.

If you’re staying overnight, and I suggest you do, your options are limited to a room at the Golden Dog Hotel, or camping at the Recreation Reserve. The Rec Reserve is my pick; super clean toilets, majestic gum trees and something you only get when you’re neither here nor there, tranquillity.

What brought me to Glenreagh is what should bring you to Glenreagh – cycling. There are not too many options for roadies as you don’t want to go playing on the narrow busy main road but if you’ve adopted the new gravel game then there’s a few you can roll onto straight from the Rec Reserve.

If you have time for two rides you can head into Sherwood Forest with its magical trees draped with staghorns and birds-nest ferns, but the magnet that attracts riders to Glenreagh is the haul up to Lowanna through Twelve Sixty.

There are times when an average should not be considered a descriptive statistic; one of those times is when riding up through Twelve Sixty. The main lift onto the range shows as 10 km at an average gradient of 4%, but you never get to ride the average, with the average hiding the long sections where the grade is 10% or greater before the road drops for a while and kicks again, sometimes up to 13%. This is steep, not brutal, but steep and there is no easy riding with those numbers.

My turn-around point was the Lowanna general store, in sight of the Lowanna railway station, but for others, this could be a starting point for many other rides into the forests near Dorrigo. The shopkeeper has seen cyclists before, offering to take my photo in front of her store before I’d thought of it myself.

Unless it is a beautiful sweeping descent that you can ride with confidence my approach is usually to ride constantly on the way up and then stop on the way down to take in the sights: there was lots of stopping on the way down as I rolled through semi cleared rolling hills with the occasional distant views across the range, then into the forest of stark white towering trees.

Out of the forest and into … a headwind; every silver lining has a cloud.

Back along the potted road through the open pasture, slow down to cross the old railway line as it runs past the sawmill, and stop. An old railway line! Look along the old track and follow the line as it disappears into the hills, and think back to the old station at Lowanna, then look at the line heading towards the Rec Reserve and the old train station there, and think – maybe there is a way to ride the average gradient. There’s an idea to be explored.