Birchville is a leafy, northern suburb of Upper Hutt. Its centre lies at the entrance to the Akatarawa Valley, in the north of the city, just past Harcourt Park. It is about a 5 km (10 minute) drive north from the centre of Upper Hutt. The Birchville community is spread out along both banks of the Hutt River in a long, narrow valley.
Close by are many walking and cycling tracks, including the Hutt River Trail and the Cannon Point Walkway track, which passes the Birchville Dam. A surprising number of properties on Gemstone Drive, the main route through Birchville, appear from the street to be typical suburban homes, but actually have expansive land out back, some housing live stock and thriving gardens and orchards which back onto the Hutt River Trail.
At Twin Bridges Park – near the Akatarawa Road Bridge and Andrews Bridge – is the Birchville Picnic Area, which has a Tea Shelter and several picnic tables. Beneath the bridges are two popular swimming holes.
Birchville is a fabulous neighbourhood for families who want to be active and immersed in nature. Children could happily spend an entire summer in Birchville swimming in one of the spectacular swimming holes nearby, exploring the bush, or down at Birchville School's fantastic BMX track.
Birchville Kindergarten, Birchville School, Te Marua/Mangaroa Playcentre.
Birchville is well serviced by the 110 bus service, seven days a week.
Birchville is very close to a shopping village with take-away restaurants and a dairy at Brown Owl, and has its own dairy on Akatarawa Road. It is also very close the Birchville Dam, Hutt River Trail and Harcourt Park.
Click on an image below to view more suburbs.
Links to more information are provided in the Resources and Links section.