Have you ever dreamed of living next to a lake (okay fine, in Singapore’s context, reservoir)? Well, if so, you should head over to this particular small estate, Westlake Gardens, which is right next to MacRitchie Reservoir with just under 100 houses. The view in the photo above is literally less than 5 minutes away from the houses in the estate!
Since the key attraction of living at Westlake Gardens is MacRitchie Reservoir, let’s start today’s landed tour there! Well, that and the 3 famous schools nearby – Raffles Institution (15 minutes walk away), Raffles Girls School (22 minutes walk) and Catholic High (27 minutes walk away). Some houses are within 1 km of Marymount Convent (Primary) School and 2 km of Ai Tong School, another well-known school. And since we are on the subject of education, I should also mention that there are also at least 3 childcare centres nearby (some within the estate proper.)
One of the roads leading into the estate.
Despite being such a tiny estate, there are actually 2 exits and entrances for vehicles into Westlake Gardens, which makes it very easy for people who drive. For those who don’t, you’re 11 minutes from Marymount MRT and 16 minutes from Caldecott MRT. There is also a bus stop right next to the entrance above, where ELEVEN buses stop! (Buses 52, 74, 130, 132, 162, 162M, 163, 165, 166, 167, 852, 855 and 980.) As you can see, this is a very well-connected landed enclave!
This is the 1st row of houses next to the entrance. Although Westlake Avenue is off a busy main road (Upper Thomson Road), there is actually a small stretch of empty land on the left of this (small) road, that separates these houses from the main road, which helps provide a buffer from the sound of the traffic.
This photo may give you a clearer photo. The houses above are on the right of this photo, and the main road is to the left.
Note that there is definitely wildlife within the estate – spot the monkey in the picture above! I saw several monkeys during my tour and also saw a boar (but not within Westlake Avenue. The boar was happily snuffling around in a gated compound next to the estate. I think the compound was St. Theresa’s Home but can’t be 100% sure.)
Walking down the road brings me to St. Theresa’s Home.
As you can see, there’s a lot to keep you occupied if you live here (and enjoy an active lifestyle.) There’s kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hiking and more!
Looking back from here, you can see how much space there is between some of the houses and Upper Thomson Road (to the left of the photo.)From here, you can walk through a paved path that brings you into MacRitchie. (This photo looks back onto the main road.)Some of the houses I pass walking on the path, many have back gates to access this path too. Despite being close to Upper Thomson road, I couldn’t hear the traffic from here.On the other side of the path (i.e. facing the Westlake Avenue houses) is an elevated gated compound. From Google Maps, this looks like St. Theresa’s Home.There’s the boar I mentioned!I’ve now come to the end of the path and, turning around, this is what I see. Doesn’t it look so idyllic with the chickens wandering outside the houses? (Helps that they weren’t crowing away but I imagine they’d be pretty noisy at dawn.) You can take this trail which leads you deeper into the forest.Or head in the opposite direction, which takes you to the reservoir. Here I see more monkeys and chickens.There’s also a fitness corner along the way. Apologies for the crappy photo, but there was a group of people exercising and having a discussion (about having children in Singapore) and I figured they didn’t want to be seen in the shot so I took it from quite far away!Now comes the money shot! This is the view of the reservoir, where you can go kayaking, canoeing and fishing. It’s not expensive too! For a 2-person kayak, it’s $15 per hour, so $7.50 per person. Cheaper and healthier than a movie. Thanks to the trees on the right of the photo, the air here is also much cooler than outside the reservoir. (But the sun is still brutal, so don’t skip the UV.)The view is so beautiful, I feel like I’m outside of Singapore. I’m also tempted to spam you with photos, but will refrain! This is the dock where you launch your canoes and kayaks FYI.Walk down the path some more and you reach what I assume to be the dam. Looking this way, not a skyscraper in sight (but it’s a different story in the other direction.)Across from the dam (on the other side of the path I am walking on) are these houses which I think house the kayaks and canoes as I see large groups of students carrying their boats in and sitting around outside them. These buildings are quite near some of the Westlake Avenue houses so it could be potentially noisy for them if a lot of schools use the area for CCAs and the like.Walking down, I look back and this is the view of the dam.
According to a signpost, Lim Bo Seng’s tomb is not far away – never knew! There’s also Mushroom Cafe and a treetop walk. Mushroom Cafe is the closest F&B outlet that I can find (to Westlake Avenue). Unfortunately it only had a 3.6 star review on Google at the time of writing. However, I’m not sure how much to trust the review as one of them was (to paraphrase) “good food. Shame I had to pay for it.” (???!)
Walking down the path, I look over to the other side and I can look right into Westlake Gardens. A few more steps and you reach the main road. (The dam is in the background of the photo, the landed houses are to the right.) Unfortunately, this part of the estate is not as serene as the other end. It’s right under a flyover and next to a busy junction. If I remember correctly, there were actually 2 bus stops here!
The path to the bus stop and the overhead bridge is partially sheltered. I am also impressed that this overhead bridge has a lift! It certainly makes it feasible for the less mobile.
This is how close the flyover is! I could definitely hear the traffic from this street (which is the closest to the flyover/main road.) The advantage is that you’re really near the CTE and Lornie Highway, so it’s a relatively quick drive to most places.Most of the roads are cul-de-sacs, like the one above, so you shouldn’t get a lot of cars taking a short cut through the estate (unlike, for example, Namly Estate.) The cul-de-sacs are also very generous, as you can see, so it’s super easy to turn your vehicle around here.
However, as the parking at MacRitchie isn’t the most ample, visitors do park outside the houses. Having said that, I visited thrice (twice on the weekend), and all 3 times was able to easily traverse the roads/find parking spaces.)
There is a notice about parking though, so I guess it does get jammed.This house must agree as he’s blocked off the entrance to this house with cones. Some visitors must park very inconsiderately!!! Also note how large the land of these houses are, you can park 2 cars next to each other inside!)The estate, as you can see, is slightly sloping. I would say the houses inside the estate definitely have a better position: they’re not only elevated, they’re also further away from the main road so it’s less noisy. I couldn’t hear traffic at all when I walked to the end of some of the lanes.)Example of how easy it is to find parking (on the 3 occasions I visited.)
Remember the monkeys I mentioned? Although I did come across a couple, they were generally inside the reservoir and I didn’t see any throwing parties in the houses. I was puzzled as, when I visited Island Country Villas near Upper Peirce Reservoir, the monkeys had definitely made themselves at home everywhere. Then I saw a lady throw something away and realised that all the bins were secured (see above – it’s something like the straps used to secure luggage) and thus the monkeys couldn’t get any food. Smart move.
As you can see, it’s not one but TWO roads above the houses here!If you take the road to the left of the previous photo, it will bring you to the top of this little hill, which enters MacRitchie again. (I’m looking down at Westlake Gardens from the entrance.) There is apparently only one house entrance located on this cul-de-sac.This is the view taken from the top (left of the photo is McRitchie, right is the path down to Westlake Avenue.) The view in the other direction – it’s what some of the houses along the path will see.Some of these houses have back doors that open onto the path. They’re located very close to the path though. I had a very clear view into the bedrooms! Not the best house if you like your privacy!
Anyway, let’s walk back into Westlake Avenue to see more of the landed enclave.
Back in the estate. As mentioned before, Westlake Avenue is full of cul-de-sacs (and big houses.) One of the childcare centres within the landed estate. (Mount Alvernia Hospital is across the road behind it, you can see the sign in the distance.)One of the big houses in the estate.As this photo shows, there are quite a few buildings being re-built. I came across at least 2-3 which is a significant number given that there are under 90 houses here.
Most of the houses closer to the St. Theresa’s Home (which is zoned as a Civic and community Institution, so won’t be turned into a condo) are still in original condition so there’s lots of redevelopment opportunity here. In 2022 alone, there were 4 sales, which is quite a lot as there were several recent years with 0 sales! (At the time of writing, asking prices ranged between $6 – $18 million.)
On the note of land zoning, here’s the URA Master Plan of the area. Westlake gardens is where the blue marker is and the huge red site above is St. Theresa’s Home. To the West is McRitchie and to the East is a large traffic junction, some apartments as well as Raffles Institution.
And here’s the Google map of the area. Unfortunately for shopaholics, as shown, there aren’t many malls nearby- the closest would be Bishan Junction 8 and Thomson Plaza. (Lots of plant nurseries, such as Ji Mei Flowers, though!)
It’s quite different from Yew Lian estate, which we viewed last week, as that had a ton of shops and cafes!
This is what most of the estate looks like – large houses and wide, relatively empty cul-de-sacs.
Note: The 2nd childcare centre that I mentioned is to the right of the photo. (Preschool by the Woods.)
Now that you’ve seen Westlake Gardens, how did you find it? It’s quite an interesting juxtaposition to me: simultaneously so close to nature yet so urban, thanks to the proximity of the highways. (Being situated at such a busy junction also means that it’s not really pleasant to walk anywhere, outside of McRitchie!) I guess it sums up life in Singapore, living in “a city in Nature.”
Anyway, let us know in the comments what you think and see you again next week as we visit Westville (requested by several readers!)
TJ
