|
|
|
South Australia (Adelaide Region) |
| Beaches - Glenelg and Brighton | |
| The most popular and easily accessible of the city’s beaches is at GLENELG, immediately south of West Beach, and 11km southwest of the city. The thirty-minute tram ride here from Victoria Square is part of the experience: the beautiful 1929 trams have original fittings – red leather seats and leather hanging straps, and wood-panelled compartments. | |
| Glenelg | |
| Glenelg
was the site of the landing of Governor John Hindmarsh and the first
colonists on Holdfast Bay; the Old Gum Tree where he read the
proclamation establishing the government of the colony still stands on
McFarlane Street (bus #167 or #168 from Currie or Grenfell streets in the
city centre), and there’s a re-enactment here every year on Proclamation
Day (Dec 28).
Nowadays, Glenelg is busy even off season. Jetty Road, the main drag, is crowded with places to eat (for the obligatory seaside fish and chips, Bay Fish Shop at no. 27 is the best) and there’s lots of accommodation. The tram terminates at Moseley Square, with its elegant town hall and clock tower. On the opposite corner, the original Victorian Pier Hotel, now part of the imposing seafront Stamford Grand Hotel, is crowded with drinkers on Sunday, when Glenelg is at its most vibrant. From Moseley Square, the jetty juts out into the bay, and in summer the beach on either side is crowded with people swimming in the calm waters; it’s also a popular windsurfing spot year-round. The foreshore is also overlooked by the very tacky Magic Mountain (Mon–Thurs 10am–6pm, Fri 10am–11pm, Sat & Sun 9am–11pm; free entry, rides by token), a 1970s mistake of a mock-stone monolith housing a predictable beachside funfair. In summer you can speed down waterslides ($6 for 30min), while dodgem cars, bumper boats, mini-golf, merry go round and pinball machines operate all year round. Luckily the deafening noise levels you’ll experience if you step inside are reasonably well-contained. Also facing the shore, you find the Glenelg Tourist Information (daily: summer 9am–5pm, winter 9am–4pm). When the centre is closed, you can access information on the 24hr touch-screen terminal outside. Next door, Beach Hire (tel 08/8294 1477) rents out deck chairs, umbrellas, surf skis, body-boards and snorkel sets. Rollerblading and cycling are other popular activities in Glenelg, with a bike track south of the square and mountain and touring bikes to rent from Holdfast Cycles at 768 Anzac Highway (tel 08/8294 4537). Brighton |
|
| South of Glenelg, Brighton has an old-fashioned, sleepy air, perhaps lent by the stone Arch of Remembrance that’s flanked by palm trees and stands in front of the long jetty, the suburb’s focal point. Here families and couples wander as joggers, cyclists and skateboarders strut their stuff along the Esplanade. Running inland from the beach, Jetty Road has a string of appealing one- and two-storey buildings shaded with awnings that contain an assortment of art, craft and secondhand stores, and two popular alfresco cafés: A Cafe Etc and Horta’s. Brighton is reached by train from Adelaide (25min) or bus #266 from Grote Street. | |
|
|