Met here for a Sunday family Picnic as most family lives in Newcastle, whilst my brother lives in…read morethe heart of Sydney. Minutes off the M1 Motorway and close to cafes, and our favourite Chargrill Charlie's, if you wish to buy something to eat in the park. Considering the stunning weather I was surprised to find easy parking and plenty of shady spots to spread out your rug or camp chairs. The big trees are beautiful. Being so close to homes and the general claustrophobic sense I get visiting Sydney, I wasn't expecting the park to be as large as it was. We all enjoyed a very relaxed afternoon and would happily meet here again.

The playground at Chatswood Park has seen better days. Dilapidation is the word to describe it, and…read moreit appears Willoughby Council is set to forget about this playground (and maybe the park as well) - more development space maybe. Why not? We don't have enough appartments in Chatswood. Come on! Bring them in! Who needs parks, when you can make money from high rise appartments...? The gate to the playground is probably the best gate I've seen for any playground in Sydney. Should that playground go, I hope they save the gate. If you look closely there are even some faces on the bars of this Art Nouveau-esque gate. I think reading somewhere that this gate was made by a local artist. Way to go! However, after entering the playground you can't miss the many defects showing up. The line of mosaics on the ground are as bad and dilapidated now as the web browser of the same name (Mosaic that is - uuugh, geek joke). The latest addition to the playground is a newish water fountain indicating that the council hasn't completely given up on this playground (yet). However the remaining play gear is not in good condition. There are slides (one straight, one curved), swing(! only one left), a wooden boardwalk and a sandpit. There's a spinner that was in such bad state that it had to be wrapped in. The rubberised ground is breaking up also. The swings had their trailing 's' cut off to become a swing, meaning there used to be two. Must've been that playful, but ravaging possum figurine on top of it (see image). Damn you, playful, but ravaging possum figurines! Talking about ravages, the ravages of time also show up on a group of wooden blocks as well. I guess they were installed as way to play with balancing. Over time those wooden blocks must've developed holes in their centre, which the Council must have filled with concrete to avoid getting trapped (and sued). However further deterioration of the wood means these concrete fillers are now depressing further (unfortunately both, in terms of their vertical location and looks). On the upside, this playground offers lots of shade thanks to big trees around and the slides and sandpit are not broken down yet. Willoughy Council, do something about this playground!

Built in 2001, Chatswood is a medium sized skatepark located just near the main shopping district…read morein downtown Chatswood. The park consists of a 5ft half bowl with extension, a couple of 5-6 ft banks featuring boxes, rails and extensions & finally a 2ft quarter leads down to a small funbox and handrail. We have full review and photos at SkatinIt