53 - Britannia Walk

Time: 1½ - 2 hours

Area: Tahunanui Hills

Start Location: The Tahunanui Beach carpark

Download the Britannia Walk map (172KB PDF)

Route directions

Follow the road towards town about 200 metres and look for the Days Track sign that leads you up into the Tahunanui hills – start climbing! At Grenville Terrace turn right, then left on to Days Track again and do some more climbing! Once on Moana Avenue turn left and walk up to Princes Drive.

At the top is the lookout, a plane table, and also a couple of seats to take in the views and catch your breath.

Follow Princes Drive down to Richardson Street – turn left and then right into Fifeshire Crescent. Fifeshire, Whitby and Maryann are names of early Nelson settler ships.

Take Fifeshire Crescent along to the end, turn right and up Maryann Walkway to Albert Road. At the top take Poynters Crescent down to Harbour Terrace and turn right. Stepney Lane is on your right – take the steps to the top, carry on into Queens Road and then up to the reserve for a rest and a view of The Cut, Haulashore Island and the Boulder Bank. The Cut is man-made and was completed in 1906 to allow ships a safer entrance to the harbour than the former channel past Fifeshire Rock.

Turn right and walk along Victoria Heights up to Britannia Heights and turn right to follow the road past the historic Songer Tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum), planted on Arbor Day 1900.

At the bottom turn right into Richardson Street and left into Whitby Road. Follow Whitby Road and The Cliffs round to Malcolm Place. Just past the first house (on your right) in Malcolm Place is a marble cupola on a concrete post marking the steps down to what remains of the Haven Cemetery. Follow the path that leads between the houses and then take the staircase down to the Basin Reserve.

Turn left and follow the waterfront along Rocks Road back to the Tahunanui Beach carpark on the seaside footpath.