Woodford, New South Wales

Woodford is a village in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 90 kilometres west of Sydney. Its elevation is 609 metres (1,998 ft) above sea level. It is situated on the Great Western Highway and has a railway station (opened in 1868 as Buss's Platform)^[2] on the Main Western railway line served by CityRail's Blue Mountains services. At the 2006 census, Woodford had a population of 1,967.^[1]

History and description

The site was originally known as Twenty Mile Hollow, or the Bends because of the road passing through it killing more than 200 people per year. In the 1830s an inn called The Woodman was built there. Ten years later the inn became known as the King's Arms, later popularly known as Buss's Inn after 1855. Sydney businessman Alfred Fairfax converted the building into a private home some time later and renamed it Woodford House. The railway station adopted the name Woodford in 1871^[3]. Woodford House later became Woodford Academy, a private boys' school and is now a heritage-listed building.

A centenary time capsule was buried at Woodford Railway Station on 14 December 2002 to be opened in a hundred years.

Sports

Woodford is well known to mountain bike riders and walkers as the start point for the renowned Oaks and St Helena tracks. It is also the finish point for Andersons and Ingar fire trails, also popular with mountain bike riders and walkers. Each June or July, Careflight International raises money by conducting the Woodford to Glenbrook Classic, a cycling and running race from Woodford railway station to Euroka picnic area at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains National Park. The Classic follows the Oaks and Bennetts Ridge fire trails, and is 25 km in length.

Tourism

The area also presents opportunities for bushwalking and photography in places like Murphys Glen and Wilson Glen (on the south side) and Mabel Falls Reserve (on the north side).^[4]

References