Why this ride
A 184 km round trip from Sydney - roughly 3 h 52 in the saddle. It goes by way of Old Government House and Domain, Australian Convict Sites and back through Old Government House and Domain. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hyde Park Barracks and Australian Convict Sites
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 184 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Pacific Drive
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Grand Pacific Drive, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Grand Pacific Drive
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hyde Park Barracks
Hyde Park Barracks is on Macquarie Street, in the heart of Sydney, in a row of colonial buildings that tell the story of the city's beginning. The barracks were designed by Francis Greenway, himself a convicted forger, and built in 1819 to house about six hundred male convicts who worked on government projects, so the man who drew the plans was the same kind of prisoner who would sleep there. Later it served as an immigration depot for women, an asylum and a courthouse, and it now operates as a museum with hammocks and artefacts that bring the convict years to life.
Read the complete Hyde Park Barracks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hyde Park Barracks is where the day begins. Next is Old Government House and Domain.
2. Old Government House and Domain
Few buildings in Australia can claim to be as old as this one. Old Government House sits in Parramatta Park, on a rise above the Parramatta River, and was begun in 1799 under Governor Hunter. It is the oldest surviving public building in the country, a plain, graceful Georgian house where successive governors lived and worked, including Lachlan Macquarie, who added to the estate. It forms part of the UNESCO listing of Australian Convict Sites, which recognises how the penal colony shaped the nation.
Read the complete Old Government House and Domain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old Government House and Domain comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Australian Convict Sites.
3. Australian Convict Sites
North of Sydney, where the Hawkesbury River winds between sandstone cliffs and forested ridges, there is a road that convicts built by hand. The Old Great North Road, begun in the 1820s, was meant to link Sydney with the Hunter Valley, and it was cut and paved by gangs of prisoners working with picks, hammers and iron bars, often in chains. It runs for over two hundred kilometres, and several sections survive, with walls of fitted sandstone, culverts, drains and cuttings that still look neat after two centuries. Together with other sites it is part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites, which record the transportation of about 160,000 men, women and children from Britain.
Read the complete Australian Convict Sites write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 88 km into the recorded legs you reach Australian Convict Sites. Next is back through Old Government House and Domain.
4. back through Old Government House and Domain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old Government House and Domain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Old Government House and Domain, late in the day. Next is Hyde Park Barracks.
5. Hyde Park Barracks
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hyde Park Barracks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hyde Park Barracks. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hyde Park Barracks to Old Government House and Domain
Hyde Park Barracks → Old Government House and Domain is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old Government House and Domain to Australian Convict Sites
Old Government House and Domain → Australian Convict Sites is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Australian Convict Sites to back through Old Government House and Domain
Australian Convict Sites → back through Old Government House and Domain is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Old Government House and Domain to Hyde Park Barracks
back through Old Government House and Domain → Hyde Park Barracks is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.