Edithvale Beach

Edithvale and Chelsea

A sunny, winter day is the perfect time to head for the beach. Too crowded in summer, it’s easy to park and you have lots of space for yourself. So on this particular Tuesday morning I took myself in more or less a straight line from where I started and ended up in Edithvale. I hadn’t been to Edithvale Beach since I was very young, so didn’t really know what it was like. Parking in a side street in a two hour free parking bay, I decided I would walk for an hour in one direction along the beach, and then come back along the road, so I could hopefully remember where my car was.

Hitting the beach I immediately realised I had arrived during ‘dog time’. Every man and his dog, pardon the pun, were out for a stroll. This is because during the colder months, between 1 April and 31 October, dogs can be off leash before 11.00 am and after 3.00 pm. I had arrived just before 10.00 am. I walked south towards Chelsea with the water on my right. Despite all the dogs, it was really pleasant and calm. Dog owners tend to be really friendly, I’ve found, so there were lots of people who smiled and said hello. I can get really nervous around dogs, especially when they are off lead, but all the owners had good control of their animals the day I was there and I felt really safe.

It can be a challenge walking along the sand, but because it had been wet the sand was fairly hard and easy to walk on, especially closer to the water. This meant I could still walk at a reasonable pace. The views out over Port Phillip Bay are stunning from wherever you are along it, and this beach is no exception. The water was so clear and the sea was calm. I only saw one swimmer, unsurprisingly with the frigid Autumn temperatures.

I continued down to a little concrete jetty and walked along it. I wondered what it’s purpose was originally, perhaps only for fishing? It is fully fenced and would be dangerous to jump from, as it is really shallow. It was pretty though, allowed me out over the water and I got some nice photos.

Continuing on a little further, I then walked up to Winborne Avenue and on to Nepean Highway. From here I walked along the shopping strip to head back to the car. It is great to walk out in the fresh air and mostly my walks are in the bush, nature reserves or along the beach. But I do also find it enjoyable to walk along the streets and in more urban areas. I like looking at houses and meandering along roads. It’s sometimes how I find new little nature reserves or green pockets of land. So walking along the main street made for a nice change.

I called in to get a banana smoothie and walked back through Chelsea to Edithvale. There is a really interesting mix of housing along here. Lots of construction and modern apartment complexes are going up. But there are also a lot of the old original houses, with some in great condition and some really run down. Walking along the road was interesting and made it easier to remember where my car was! All up I walked for 6 kilometres at a very leisurely pace and it took 90 minutes. I was left with plenty of time to get back to my car before I could get a parking ticket!