A short tale of an accidental adventure: I arrive at the Palm Beach Wharf just in time to see the 9am ferry to the Central Coast leave without me.  Tough call: go home or wait for the next at 10:30am. While thinking about it, I ride to Palm Beach then onto the hard wet sand to the north end. This was meant to be: time to ride up to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse.

There are two paths up: one shorter, very steep with steps; one longer, steep, but no steps. While the longer path is smooth enough to ride, it was the steepest incline I have ever ridden. By the time I reached the top, my legs were on fire, but it was magic looking across to the Lighthouse against the morning light.

This beacon of hope is a magnificent structure and worth every puff of the hill climb.

The north side of the headland looking over to Lion Island and Broken Bay.

If you ride up, a word of warning about the descent. You can easily ride over the small path drainage steps on you way up, but going down risks a puncture as you hit those rises. So I walked my bike most of the way down; too steep anyway.

A unique view of two waters around Balm Beach. How close are they! What a great way to fill an hour, but I do suggest chaining your bike below and walking.