As we curved onto the causeway, with the Burrard Rowing Club building facing us across the water, we jogged left onto the path leading to the bridge overpassing the perimeter road, and entered the park. As we continued, the rose garden lay below and soon we passed between the memorial garden and Malkin Bowl to reach the bus loop and parking area. Bearing left, we came to Pipeline Road, which we crossed, and continued north. We usually go down to Beaver Lake but today we carried on along the road. Chain-saws were active and the forest was noticeably thinner than in the past. Crossing the ravine that drains Beaver Lake into Burrard Inlet, we bore left and followed the northbound trail briefly, then took Ransom Trail on the left. This road led up to the highest point of the park near Prospect Point and here we met the highway to Lions Gate Bridge.
Anke said that she had heard that the engineers had hung a Volkswagen under the bridge and we wondered if we were on the right side of the bridge and whether it would still be there. When we reached the first lookout we leaned over and saw that the red shell of a Volkswagen was indeed hanging down from the centre of the east side of the bridge where we were. We continued, looking over from time to time, until we were over the vehicle. As we were looking some maintenance trucks started arriving and one of the men said we might have to move to keep out of their way when they started. We waited and watched. No bikes or pedestrians were using the sidewalk so we realized we had "exclusive coverage" from our location. Cars used one lane in each direction to the centre, then were directed into a single lane, first northbound then southbound. Slowly the crew got a cable from the crane over the edge of the bridge and the red frame could be heard banging against the metal railings. We waited until the Volkswagen was completely over the edge and onto the sidewalk before continuing our journey. We had got quite cold and were glad to hurry down the path, take the underpass at its end leading down to the Lower Road below and make it into Park Royal for washrooms and a Second Cup coffee and lemon loaf.After the break, we made our way out to the back of the store and picked up the footpath to Ambleside, passing the Ferry Building Art Gallery and the Silk Purse Arts Centre where I have attended some morning concerts. Carrying on we reached the wide walkway, with its separated dogwalk, and followed along to reach Dundarave at what used to be Peppi's and is now the Beach House Restaurant. Capers and Marketplace were just up the road at Marine Drive. We had lunch at a picnic table and last-chance washrooms were available before we would be faced by the set of "winterized" (i.e. closed) facilities present at upcoming beaches.
Continuing between the railway and the sea until the end of Bellevue Avenue, we jogged right and left into Park Lane, using the dirt trails of Altamont Beach Park, just off the road, to soften the footing briefly. We dropped down to Procter Avenue to reach 31 Street where the railway parted from us, bearing right to cross Marine Drive. We jogged left and first right onto Travers Avenue to reach Marine Drive and follow it briefly, bearing left into the "No Exit" Radcliffe Avenue. It is in fact "No Exit" if you are a car but if you are a pedestrian there is an exit down onto the beach of West Bay Park. We took a look at the beach and a walker on the grass, noting the winterized toilet before ascending the steps on the east side of the creek, leading us up to Marine Drive.
I decided to follow an old route of mine from here to see if it was still open. We crossed the road and went up Sunset Lane, just south of the railway. This road passed several houses with ocean views and we followed it almost to its end until we saw a set of wooden steps leading down to the railway opposite a metal gate on our side. We lifted the latch, closing it behind us, walked across the railway and up the steps to reach the end of Hayes Street. This is a one-way street that meanders down the hill but, being pedestrians, we were allowed to walk up it to reach McKechnie Avenue. After a short pause for breath, we turned left and went off the trail at its end into McKechnie Park.
Just into the park we met a woman with a small white dog who couldn't believe we had just walked there from Waterfront Station. She went off back home to tell her husband. At the first intersection, the trail up the hill leads to a tennis court and a park gate to streets to the Westmountr Exit of the Upper Levels Highway. We bore left downhill, taking a short straight-ahead section to a viewpoint at the bottom, before continuing the U-shaped path to emerge on a paved road. This took us downhill across the railway to Sharon Drive and a bus stop at Sandy Cove on Marine Drive. It was 2:15 and a bus was due so this seemed a good time to stop.
The 250 bus came and took us into town, letting Anke get a 3 o'clock bus to White Rock and me a bus to Point Grey a few minutes later.
Return to Further Walks.
