In recent years, locals and outsiders have been able to walk The Cowpastures across a variety of walking and cycling trails that have been created in the Camden area.
Walking the Cowpastures has become a reality.
Tourists can immerse themselves in the historic landscape and get fit at the same time.
The sites of the walks are located in and around the historic Camden township, situated in the Cow Pastures, a region named by Governor Hunter in 1795 and marking the fourth location of European settlement in Australia.
The Cowpastures area was the traditional lands of the Dharawal people, where they lived for thousands of years.
The paths crisscross the 1795 Cowpastures and the Nepean River floodplain, and surprisingly, to many, have little development around them. The reason is that all this flat land is subject to extensive flooding by the Nepean River.
You can be a visitor, walk the paths and be a time-traveller back to the days of colonial NSW and the Cowpastures and be part of ‘Little England’.
Or you can go back thousands of years, use your imagination and immerse yourself in Dharawal country.
You can celebrate these historic sites by walking across the landscape of The Cowpastures and immersing yourself in the past and absorbing the history that surrounds you.
Walk The Cowpastures
Immerse yourself in the stories of the past
Miss Lewella Davies Pioneer Walkway
The Miss Lewella Davies Pioneer Walkway is part of Camden’s Living History, where visitors and locals can see, experience and understand what a farm looks like, smells like and its size and extent. Located on Sydney’s urban fringe, it serves as a constant reminder of the Indigenous Dharawal people and the area’s rich farming heritage, which includes grazing, cropping, and dairying.
If the walker is patient and perceptive, the path reveals the layers of the past, some of which have been silenced for many years.
I was recently walking across the Nepean River floodplain past meadows of swaying waist-high grass on a local walkway that brought to mind Governor King’s 1805 description of the Cowpastures.
Atkinson writes
The first Europeans looked about with pleasure at the luxuriant grass that covered both the flats and the low hills. The flats seemed best for cattle…the trees were sparse. (Atkinson, Alan 1988, Camden, Oxford University Press, Oxford ; New York)
The trees were indeed sparse on my walk, yet the cattle in the adjacent paddock proved the fulfilment of the observations of the early Europeans.
The Nepean River Trail
The Nepean River Trail incorporates the Miss Lewella Davies Pioneer Walkway.
The Camden Council website states:
The Nepean River Trail is a 4.2-kilometre walking trail along picturesque landscapes, scenic waterways and public art. The trail links to walking trails though Camden Town Farm, Ferguson Land Cricket Facility and other walking trails, and forms an important extension to the overall trail network.
The Trail, an initiative of Camden Council, enhances public spaces along the Nepean River, and was made possible with $5.1million of funding secured through the NSW Government Public Spaces Legacy Program.
Along the trail, Camden also welcomes its first Public Art Trail. Visitors will be delighted by artworks from local artists, including Jane Cavanough, Kevin Vo, Graham Chalcroft, Mark McClelland, Cathy Drew and Peter Day. (Camden Council, 2021)
Camden RSL Community Memorial Walkway
The Camden RSL Walkway is situated within the Camden town precinct and encompasses several existing sites located within the boundaries of The Cowpastures. These include The Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park, Onslow Park, Camden Town Farm, Macarthur Park, the Camden Cycleway and the town centre. The course was developed by Camden RSL in 2006.
The memorial walkway website states
The Camden RSL Community Memorial Walkway is designed to mirror Camden’s well recognised community commitment to developing and maintaining its historic “working country town” character.
The walkway is an unique tribute to the bravery and efforts of Australian service people who have served their country in various conflicts. The walkway is approximately 8.13 kilometres (5 miles) to represent the distance from the beach to the escarpment at Gallipoli.
The walkway is positioned to meander for about for about 5.3 kilometres through the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park, and includes 4 picnic/passive recreational precincts with vistas of the park and the surrounding rural and urban areas. It then moves through the adjoining Camden Town via Onslow Park, Exeter, Edward, Arygle, Hill, Broughton, Chellaston Streets, Memorial Park/Civic Centre, Oxley Street, the Showground and Cawdor Road for a further 2.8 kilometres, passing by a variety of historic, cultural and commercial precincts. (nsw.gov.au, 2020)
Nepean River Cycleway
The Nepean River Cycleway is also locally known as the Camden Bike Track or by Sydney Cycle Paths as the Camden River Trails.
The trail is a mixed walking and cycling path starting in the town centre, extending to Camden South (or Benkennie) (about 3km). The path is concrete with easy grades.
There is an extension across the Nepean River at the bottom of Chellaston Street using the Little Sandy Bridge to Elderslie (1.2 km). The bridge is currently closed due to flood damage.
The map from Sydney Cycle Paths illustrates the extent of the cycleway from Argyle Street to Camden South. There are various access points to the cycleway, as well as public toilets, at Belgenny Reserve, adjacent to the Nepean River. (admin, 2020)
Cowpasture Reserve Parkrun, Camden
The Camden Parkrun is conducted along the Camden Cycleway and is 5km long.
The course begins at the Cowpastures Reserve on Argyle Street and continues to Camden South, then returns along the same route.
The Camden Parkrun website states that the course is
An out and back course on concrete path of the Nepean River Cycleway, commonly referred to as Camden Bike Track. The start/finish line is at Wetlands Reserve, adjacent to Rotary Cowpasture Reserve. (parkrun.com.au, 2025)
Walk The Cowpastures
Soak up history
By walking The Cowpastures you will immerse yourself in Australian history from thousands of years ago in Dharawal country to the recent arrival of Europeans and the settler society in colonial New South Wales.
Walking The Cowpastures will make you a time-traveller and get you fit at the same time.
Create an experience, become a local tourist and walk The Cowpastures.
References
Camden Council. (2021). Nepean River Trail, Camden – Camden Council. [online] Available at: https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/parks-and-recreation/public-spaces-legacy-project-nepean-river-trail [Accessed 15 Jun. 2025].
nsw.gov.au. (2020). Camden RSL Community Memorial Walkway | NSW War Memorials Register. [online] Available at: https://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/content/camden-rsl-community-memorial-walkway.
admin (2020). Camden river trails, pleasant riding along the Nepean river. [online] Sydneycyclepaths.com.au. Available at: https://www.sydneycyclepaths.com.au/project/camden-river-trails/ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2025].
parkrun.com.au. (2025). course | Cowpasture Reserve parkrun, Camden. [online] Available at: https://www.parkrun.com.au/cowpasturereservecamden/course/ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2025].
Lycett, Joseph, 1971 Views in Australia or New South Wales & Van Diemen’s Land delineated, in fifty view, with descriptive letter prefixes, London, J. Souter, 1824-1825. Melbourne : Thomas Nelson (Australia).
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