Every half an hour, the train goes from Sydney to Woy Woy and towards pelicans, fish and chips, good bands, great psychics and Spike Milligan.
From grand old Central Station, Sydney to Woy Woy – along beautiful Hawkesbury River views – and towards the Milligans’ old home – takes around 90 minutes.
Eat in or take fish and chips away at Fisherman’s Wharf, surrounded by table-hopping pelicans. You can order a cold seafood platter if you have an Air BnB booked. The Wharf Restaurant there serves lunch every day.
Calamari and Fish Cocktails
Three generations of the Cregan-Clayton family run the shop, takeaway section and restaurant.
Manager Sam Clayton says, “We really wanted to bring people much closer to the water. We wanted them to walk in and feel like they were surrounded by the mangroves, pelicans and birds. You feel connected to it, especially at high tide.”
“Because we’ve been here for so long, people have a real sense of what they want. Things like fish and chips, calamari and fish cocktails are what keep our lights on. We’ll never move away from that,” says Sam. “The less you do to it, the better.”
Meet the Squadron
A group of pelicans is known as a squadron, pod, scoop or fleet. Those at Woy Woy (a play on an Aboriginal name meaning ‘big lagoon’ or ‘much water’ stretch back generations.
You can download a free guide here, not only to the squadron – but also good places to swim. You can also visit an Aboriginal engraving site left by the Bulgandry people.
Psychics Ahoy
Gnostic Corner takes bookings for its psychics and also sells crystals, books and incense.
Seamus Moynagh comes highly recommended.
They also have an alternative medicine space, the Gnostic Healing Centre.
You can find Gnostic Corner a short walk from Fishermens’ Wharf and it’s also marked on the free Love Central Coast guide.
Come for Tarot or mediumship. You can also attend classes and try the Gypsy Cards. Please note: cash preferred. The Gnostic Forest Shop is at 23 The Boulevarde.
Music at the Link and Pin
Over at 18 Railway Street, again a short walk away, you can have lunch in an old armchair, shop for vinyl, or sit in the small band area outside and watch Sydney musicians on mini-tour.
There are also DJ’s and event parties, like Halloween. You can find dub and ska nights, or Steve Kilbey. https://www.linkandpin.com.au
Books for the Train
A fantastic, big collection of secondhand books, magazines and vinyl is not far away. Coast Books and Records has bargains outside and rare finds inside.
It’s at number 7, The Boulevarde. You’ll find some vintage Spike Milligan in here. And he can also be found at the local library.
Spike Milligan at the Library
The Spike Milligan Room at Woy Woy Central Library, Blackwall Road, isn’t far away (this is a walkers’ town).
This is a good video guide to Spike’s family and how ‘Woy they call it Woy Woy I don’t know’ has passed into local folklore.
“Even though Spike was born in India and grew up in England, he considered the Central Coast his home and loved nothing more than to visit his family, write and relax here,” says librarian Geoff Potter, lifelong fan of The Goon Show. “
During the 1960s and 1970s Milligan, then a star – beloved by the young Prince Charles – spent time with his parents Leo and Florence and younger brother Desmond who all lived on Brisbane Water, Woy Woy’s swimming and fishing paradise.
Spike Milligan was fond of saying that if you plugged your electric toothbrush into the socket in Woy Woy all the town lights would dim, but years later, this charming, surprising, eccentric town is truly lit – for those in the know.
