Four years ago I visited Mt Royal National Park north of Singleton, and walked part of the the loop track that goes down to the creek in the valley. On Friday I returned and completed the full walk.

The walk down and back was 6.2km, and it took 1 hour down, and 1 hour 20 minutes up. At the bottom of the track, just near the creek, there’s one lone picnic bench.

The creek itself is quite small, not much more than a trickle, even after some heavy rain the day before.

We walked back up the northern track, which in contrast to the southerm track has steps in some of the steeper sections.

Both tracks conveniently have a bench seat at about the halfway mark, for well earned rests.

On returning to the Youngville picnic area where we started the walk, the mountain was shrouded in cloud and mist, making a very picturesque scene.

After some lunch at the picnic area, we did the short walk up to Pieries Peak. This is only 2km return, and a much gentler grade than the creek walk.

Leeches? Yes. On the way home I found one very bloated leech in my sock, and four leech bites on my ankle.