Parsley Bay. One of many bays and beaches in Sydney.

I've been to Bronte, Clovelly, Nielsen Park, Redleaf and Watsons Bay this month since I started to swim again at start of Nov.

More than three months on, and not a single reply! Has anybody visited Parsley Bay?

Where is this Mary Rose? It looks lovely.

Where is this Mary Rose? It looks lovely.

Between Vaucluse Bay and Watsons Bay, on the southern side of Sydney Harbour. It is lovely, isn't it, though years ago, I gave myself a shock when I swam from one side of the bay to the other, along the shark net, put my hands out to touch the rocks, and cut them to ribbons on oyster shells. I was almost panicking swimming back, though the water possibly did the cuts good? My mate Bill, whom I picked up in Edgecliff driving down there, had some Band Aids, and I think I used five on each hand!

They take the shark net down for maintenance in the winter, as they do at Neilsen Park (next to Vaucluse Bay) so I don't go there in the winter, at least for swimming. I think the footbridge is over a hundred years old. (I Googled 'Parsley Bay!) I can't remember his name, but also over a hundred years ago, he formed a group to lobby the NSW Government to open up access to Sydney Harbour for the people of Sydney, otherwise there would be more mansions around the harbour and less beaches for 'us' (the hoi polloi!?)

I usually drive down there from Surry Hills, along New South Head Road, but you can go by bus. I think the Watsons Bay 324 stops near one end of the footbridge. I might go for a swim there today, now it's in my mind. I often don't know which beach I'm going to when I leave home, sometimes the same one every day, usually Bronte, sometimes a different one every day.

By Hannah-Rose Yee 28th November 2013

You can approximate the pleasure of a private beach at Vaucluse’s secluded and oft-forgotten Parsley Bay.

What do we talk about when we talk about the beach? Blue water? Fancy eateries filled with barefoot people with sand in their hair? Surfboards, wet hair, the smell of coconut and sunscreen? No. What we really talk about is freedom, relaxation, privacy. The world needs its megawatt, perma-tanned beaches, sure, but it also needs its smaller, more intimate spreads of golden sand. For every Bondi and Manly there must also be a Parsley Bay.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Parsley Bay has emerged straight from the silver screen. With rocks and caves encircling the small inlet beach tucked away at the tip of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, and a century-old wooden walkway bridging the two sides, the bay has a cinematic sense of the spectacular. It belongs in a turn of the century movie, where picnics, parasols and white lace were a package deal. This all makes sense, of course, when you consider that Parsley Bay was once part of William Wentworth’s vast Vaucluse Estate, along with the area’s other, more well known beach, Nielsen Park. By 1906 the bay was open to the public, with mesh netting installed in the 1930s as a protective measure against sharks.

But despite its beauty and history, Parsley Bay remains something of a locals-only secret. And that is part of its charm. On any given day you might find the small sandy beach, its much larger surrounding parkland – and the handy on-site car park – peppered with toddlers and their parents, or teenagers in their school uniforms, dipping their toes in the water, or a solitary couple on their daily walk through the bushland circuit that leads towards the bay’s gushing waterfall.

Or, you might find it completely empty. Parsley Bay – hemmed in by rocks and lush, swollen green – has all the pleasure of a private beach without the price tag, the pressure or the politics. Perhaps that is what we really talk about when we talk about beaches. It’s certainly what we talk about when we talk about Parsley Bay.

Parsley Bay Reserve

Parsley Road, Vaucluse

I'll be in Sydney later this year - plan to go and look this place up - it looks so peaceful! Thanks for the info.

Great for kids and babies, we had a 1st birthday party there the other day. It was perfect

So many great bays and beaches to choose from - thanks @MARYROSE02, looks like it's worth a visit