Angophora Reserve

Overview

Angophora Reserve is one of the significant trail sections of the Bilgola 500. The reserve sits wedged between Avalon, Clareville, and Bilgola Plateau, and is a hidden gem of the Northern Beaches. It's like a hidden trail that emerges from suburbia, featuring sandstone outcrops, an abundance of birdlife, dense canopy, stairs, a bridge over a stream, and enough climbing to classify as one of the five climbs/descents of the Bilgola 500 course, depending on which direction you're running.

History and Significance

Angophora Reserve is an 18.5-hectare urban bushland reserve sitting within Avalon, Clareville and Bilgola Plateau, on Sydney's Barrenjoey Peninsula. Northern Beaches Council describes it as remnant forest and woodland vegetation, with significant samples of vegetation communities and fauna habitats that are under threat.

The reserve was originally purchased by the Wildlife Preservation Society in 1937 as a bushland sanctuary, particularly to preserve a giant Angophora tree. The tree still stands today, although it is now dead. The reserve was once a precious home to koalas, however loss of habitat, both within the reserve and on the greater peninsula, as well as attacks from dogs, deaths from motor vehicles and the disease chlamydiosis, wiped out the local koala population.

Role in the Bilgola 500

On the Bilgola 500 course, Angophora Reserve is not just scenery. It is one of the sections that helps turn the route from a normal run into a proper 500 Over 10 course: technical footing, punchy elevation, broken rhythm, and the constant psychological insult of knowing there is more climbing still to come.

When running in an anti-clockwise direction, runners enter Angophora Reserve from Palmgrove Road in Avalon. It's the second climb, early in the course, so the legs should be fresh to push up past the stream and onto the runnable sections that take you to Clareville.

For the clockwise direction, you get to Angophora Reserve after climbing a tight cut-through from Clareville, up over some dodgy wooden stairs from Hilltop Road, and then you have a small climb before a steady descent to Avalon.

Ecology and Landscape

The reserve is known for its bushland setting, remnant vegetation communities, native fauna habitat, and its connection to the broader landscape of Avalon, Clareville and Bilgola Plateau.

Sources and Further Reading

For more information about Angophora Reserve, see the links below.

• Northern Beaches Council — Angophora Bushland Reserve
• Northern Beaches Council — Angophora Reserve access information
• Northern Beaches Recollect — Entrance to Angophora Reserve, Avalon
• Construction and Real Estate Journal — Angophora Reserve launch, 1938
• Avalon Preservation Association — Gateway for Angophora Reserve, 1968