A Merri meander
105 High St, Northcote VIC 3070, Australia
By
Ambler
(The link above is to the Friends of Merri Creek)
Merri is a small part of Northcote around Merri train station. There are lots of interesting things to find walking around the streets and the Merri Creek. Many of the locals seem very friendly and car speeds are relatively slow traffic apart from on the appalling Merri Pde. Watch out for maniacs driving round the blind corner on Merri Pde near Barry St. The speed limit is 60 km/h and it should be 40 if not 30 but VicRoads does not seem to care much.
High St shops include a few cafe's, chemist, newsagent, a small licensed grocer and of course the wonderful Westgarth Cinema. Union St has about 40 mosaic pavers set in the nature strip that some of the locals have made, there should be more streets like this!
Wandering along the Merri Creek is a joy thanks to the tireless work of the Friends of Merri Creek a community group that has actively worked since 1988 to restore and protect the Merri Creek, its environs and tributaries. This has helped the return of an abundance of wildlife such as rainbow lorikeets, wattle birds, magpies, even a powerful owl and an echidna have been spotted around the creek.
There is a great dog off leash area that attracts people from far and wide (but please keep your dogs on a leash until you get there).
If you are into street art, there are a couple of real beauties on this walk.
The area is very well supported by public transport so no need to drive to get there, in fact this should be avoided. It has two train stations (Merri Station on the Epping line and Westgarth on the Hurstbridge line), the High street tram (No. 86) and St Georges Rd tram (No 112), La Trobe Uni, Northland/Garden City bus (250/2501/253) and Westgarth/Moonee Ponds bus (506).