The 14-kilometre City to Sea Walkway links Bolton Street Memorial Park near Parliament with Shorland Park on the South Coast. The trail runs adjacent to the Southern Walkway, but ventures further inland from the sea, into the Town Belt to the west of Berhampore.

It’s a beautiful track to follow the gradual transition from the dense inner CBD with its multilane motorway to the rugged coastline and sandy beaches in Island Bay.

And it’s got some interesting history to offer too, because right at the start of the walk, you’ll be wandering among the weathered headstones marking the graves of some of Wellington’s earliest settlers in Bolton Street Memorial Park. The cemetery is located next to the motorway and yet offers a lovely sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s a fascinating place with grass and roots breaking through large slabs of cracked stone that cover the graves enclosed by a rusty wrought iron fences, and the dates chiselled into the soft rock go back to the early 1840s.

Across the motorway, the walkway escapes the inner-city bustle in the Lady Norwood Rose Garden. In May, at the very end of the flowering season, few roses were still in full bloom and yet the serenity and beauty of the garden were charming. The beds are arranged in circles around a circular fountain at the centre and framed on the sides by wooden colonnades against the backdrop of Begonia House, a filigree glasshouse built in 1960.

The trail continues up the hill to where a small crowd is usually gathered at the Cable Car terminal watching the iconic bright red funicular zip up and down the Kelburn hillside against the backdrop of the city spread out across the hills. That may be the most touristy view of Wellington yet, but it is nevertheless lovely.

As the trail runs south across the Town Belt ridges, early 1900 century architecture on the Victoria University’s Kelburn Campus replaces views of the city and Wellington Harbour and in turn, gives way to historic wooden cottages in Aro Valley and the city’s most vibrant food and coffee scene in Newtown.

The homestretch is a lovely amble across a string of reserves, parks, and a golf course joined into a continuous expanse of greenery that hits the rugged coastline in Island Bay. On a fine day, the Remutaka Range to the east and the seaward and inland Kaikoura Ranges in the South Island are visible in the distance.

The City to Sea Walkway is a well-signposted track with yellow markers and can be walked in either direction. At the finish in Shorland Park, the trail connects with the Southern Walkway, and the Nr.1 bus runs back to the city centre.