Seoul Trail #6: Anyang Stream Course

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Today's trail would take me 18 kilometres from Seoksu Station to Gupabal Station walking along Anyang Stream. The course is entirely flat and follows the direction of the stream as it flows into the Han River. It is estimated that the route will take four hours and thirty minutes. It is divided into two parts; Seoksu Station to Guil Station which is 7.8 kilometres and then Guil Station to Gupabal Station, which is 10.2 kilometres. I came out of Seoksu Station at exit two. The stamp box is located right next the station, so I got my first stamp of the day. I followed the trail right and came out near the stream. I was walking next to an old style villa neighbourhood on my right and the stream was down below on the left. It was a chilly morning, but nice and sunny.

The trail was nestled between the stream and the train tracks. I saw a few subway trains coming and going. This part of the trail definitely wasn't the prettiest, but it did show what the city is like. There was quite a lot of construction work going on as I walked nearer to Geumcheon Gu Office Station. I really do wonder if Korea will ever be finished, or another neighborhood will be torn down and replaced with a brand-new shiny, sparkling neighborhood. The trail is under the flight path for, I presume, Gimpo Airport, so I could see and hear the planes overhead. The trail isn't too well signposted, it is easy in that you just follow the stream but there are several different levels to walk along, down by the river, a middle path sometimes, and the higher path next to the road. A lot of the times I didn't know which path I should be on, so I just alternated to get a different view and feel of the place. Since the Seoul Trail is still fairly new and is made up of older trails, that they have linked together, I didn't know which one of those I should be following. Since it was still the holiday, it was quite quiet, but there were a few people walking, jogging and cycling along the river.

Another random point there are lots of public toilets along the route. I saw a cleaning lady cleaning them, so they are well maintained. She had a bike with all over kit in the basket. What good exercise she must get cycling between them. I covered the first part of the trail in about two hours, so I made goodish time. I walked past Guil Station, that was a lot bigger than I had imagined it would be. I followed the path past the station. The wall was covered with lots of cute mural. I went under a bridge and came out the other side. I came to the end of that part of the path. I hadn't located the middle stamp box and according to the map it was right by the station. I retraced my steps to the front of the station and the main entrance. I looked around and found the stamp box. It was well hidden next to a tree next to the main path. I got my stamp and then hurried back to where I just walked.

Across the river I could see the Sky Dome, whatever that was, it looked impressive though. I continued along by the river. I kept alternating paths, as I wasn't sure which one I should be on. I was happy when I saw saw a trail marker that showed I was now over halfway to the end. I was happy as the backpack I was carrying was giving me some serious gyp. My back was aching, I was dying to take my backpack off, that's what I get for swapping backpacks. As I was walking along, I kept seeing these random chimney/fan like things sticking out if the ground. They looked pretty weird, slightly scifi-esque. I wonder what they are for, I see lots of similarish random chimney/fans, but these ones were strange.

There were lots of bridges over the stream, too. I passed some industrial looking area, there were some huge chimneys puffing out white smoke. The further along I went, the busier it got. There were lots of cyclists making the most of the extra day off. I came to the Han River confluence, where the Anyang Stream flows into the Han. This area was packed, mainly with cyclists. I stopped to take some picturesof the confluence. It was quite pretty, in an industrial kind of way. There did seem to be a little smog in the air. From the confluence I headed over the small bridge to the left and now I was walking with the Han on my right. I had a few more kilometres to go, but I was almost there.

The final stamp box was located at the top of the stairs next to the river. Happy to have my last stamp for the day, I headed towards the subway station. I walked through a little park, and along a quiet road to reach the busy main road. I got a bit lost here as it either isn't well signposted or I missed the sign. Thank goodness for google maps as I was able to sort myself out and I walked in the direction of Gayang Station. I ended up at the start of the seventh trail, so I knew where it was for when I head back. I can't say that this was my favourite trail, as I found it a little boring, very samey in parts. I was looking forward to the next part of the trail as it would, hopefully, be a bit more diverse.

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Photos

Random
I saw a few of these along the route.