Walking Sydney's laneways

Our long Anzac weekend was mostly rainy, but we had one brilliantly beautiful and sunny afternoon. I was about to burst from not doing any major activities on the holiday weekend, so I decided to go do a walk I've had on my list for a while. 

The city puts out brochures with self-guided walks throughout the city. They are all themed differently, like a waterways walk, or a shopping district walk, that kind of thing. I had bookmarked a "hidden laneways" walk a long time ago. I loved exploring the laneways down in Melbourne a couple years ago, and even though I felt like I probably would have encountered similarly cool ones in Sydney by now, my hopes were up and I decided to go for it!

The tour started in the CBD, so off I set. It's pretty hard to believe it's autumn when everything is still so green and the sun is so strong!  

First up on my map was Phillip Lane. I was pretty excited because I'd never been down that "lane" before, but as it turns out, I'd probably visited before for good reason. It was basically just an alley. Even the historic walking tour info couldn't make it interesting. What a bummer! I tried to take pictures that made it look as cool as possible to make up for the disappointment.  

A glimpse of the Lands Department building, which is a pretty cool old building, added some much needed ambience.

  At the end of the laneway (alley), there was an old archway that was a little bit cool.

  And some fun artwork in a window...

The alley dumped right out to the Museum of Sydney:

Then it was down the hill toward Circular Quay...

 

My next laneway was Loftus Lane, which my brochure told me was alongside old wool storage buildings.   

The old pulley contraptions are still visible at the top of the building. 

 

A little art along the way...

Next I headed back away from the harbor, and as it turned out, to laneways that I know pretty well.

 

The next stop was Tank Stream Way and the surrounding streets. The Tank Stream actually runs under the city and is a pretty integral part to early Sydney history. When Sydney was being formed, there was a freshwater stream that ran into the harbor, and the early settlers built storage tanks to capture the water and store it. Probably unsurprisingly, the water got polluted with runoff from the city, so now the underground tunnels are just used as storm drains. That's where this lane got its name.  

 

Old lumberyard storage buildings

By this time I was pretty close to the office and streets that I know well. This lane has a pajama shop, a wine store, and a patisserie, making it pretty much the most perfect street in the world.

  Of course, no laneway tour could be complete without going through my favorite lane in Sydney!
 

And I have to admit, I have never noticed this car on the side of the building, even though I walk through here all the time! I was so surprised when it caught my eye!    

Even though I had a nice time walking around the city, I have to say that it wasn't particularly surprising or full of discovery. And the lanes were, for the most part, pretty uninspiring. Definitely not Melbourne-level. I guess we'll just have to for a visit! =)