There are multiple starting points for this loop track, which has an easy-to-moderate difficulty rating. If you start at King Edward Park, you will come across a selection of alternate and additional side routes that are signposted: Carrington Walk, Three Bridges Trail, Clemow Walk, and Western Loop. All of the tracks are similar but offer access to different vantage spots of the points of interest along the way.

Key points of interest include:

• Malone Gates which are located on the corner of Fenton and Portia streets. These white marble gates were erected in 1923 as a tribute to Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone, who was killed after successfully leading the Wellington Battalion in an attack on the Turks at Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915.
• McCullough Rhododendron Dell was formed in the 1960s, and contain several hundred rhododendrons and include some propagated from seed sent from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland as well as some from Lord Rothchild’s gardens in England.
• Clemow Reserve was established in 1952 as a native arboretum along the northern edge of the Rhododendron Dell.
• Four pedestrian bridges that cross the river giving panoramic views of the steep banks and vegetation. Wait long enough on these bridges and you may glimpse a brown trout.
• Natural pools (used by past generations as swimming holes) that may contain the occasional trout.
• A boulder weir that was constructed to dam the flow of the river, and two caves that were dug into the banks for changing sheds and are still visible today.
• The stock ford that crosses the river - this was used to get cattle to the saleyards on Miranda Street from the south and west.
• Windsor Park, a delightful miniature landscaped area that includes several large magnolias and many fine specimens of rhododendrons.
• Thomson Arboretum was established in 2001 with planting on the eastern side designed to recreate a sense of the bush edge, while the western side plants are reminiscent of ancient primeval forests.
• Sections of the walkway that follow farmland boundaries and give views across the countryside of rolling green pastures and grazing cattle.

For further information contact New Plymouth, Stratford or South Taranaki i-SITE Visitor Centre, or view the downloadable brochures from our website.