Pymble: Play, Sport and Architectural History

Pymble can be considered as a hotel destination through a range of specific interests: opportunities for play at Robert Pymble Playground, sports facilities at Bannockburn Oval and a historic reservoir give the area different points of interest. These places are not interchangeable. When planning a trip, you can first decide whether play equipment and active pursuits, sports facilities or architectural history will play a greater part in your stay.

Play and Sports

At Robert Pymble Playground, a design inspired by farm life is paired with an opportunity for active play. The playground features a tractor, a climbing structure inspired by a farm and fruit-shaped seesaws. The recurring farm and fruit motifs give the play equipment a distinctive focus; the circuit track adds a different kind of activity. Younger children can ride bikes and scooters on the track. This gives visitors two specific things to consider: the themed equipment and using the track for cycling and scooter rides. For trip planning, the main consideration is whether this kind of play and activity suits your group’s interests.

Bannockburn Oval offers a more sports-focused experience. The facility has an athletics track, a synthetic wicket and a playground. Unlike Robert Pymble Playground, whose circuit track is specifically intended for younger children to ride bikes and scooters, the athletics track and synthetic wicket are among the oval’s distinctive features. This offers a choice between two different focuses: themed play equipment with a circuit track on one hand, and the oval’s named sports facilities on the other.

Reservoir and Architectural History

Pymble Reservoir No.1 (Covered) brings architectural history to the fore. It was built in 1900 to meet local needs. The circular, covered reservoir is made of brick; an octagonal entrance chamber, also made of brick, sits in the middle of the roof. The contrast in shapes is a key feature of the structure: the circular reservoir and the octagonal chamber are different parts of the same construction. The reservoir is also part of an important group of covered reservoirs on the Pacific Highway in Pymble. It therefore connects a local water supply function dating from 1900 with a place within this group of reservoirs.

Another architectural point of interest is the private Eric Pratten House. It is Griffin’s largest residential commission in Australia. This significance adds a connection to Griffin to the picture of Pymble’s architecture, offering a different focus from the reservoir’s date of construction and form.

Planning Your Visit

Pymble railway station has a commuter car park, bicycle racks and toilets. If any of these facilities are important to your travel plans, check what is currently available beforehand, as this may change.

Discover more destinations: Hawks Nest, Ramsgate, Yallaroi, Tuross Head, Cooma, Horningsea Park, Broken Hill, Millers Point

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.