broadmeadows valley park

Yesterday, Ferdie and Perry and I went for a stroll on what I used to (and perhaps still do) call the Broadmeadows Valley Park loop. It's been a long time since I traversed that - Ferdie has done it before - Perry never. You will definitely recall the time I passed through here and went to what was known as Barnsley Mews - now long replaced by three-storey townhouses which don't seem to have a collective name. You might also recall the 'Yuroke Creek Trail' enterprise of 9 years and 9 months ago. 

Broadmeadows Valley Park is one of those places that feels completely exotic and remarkable, spacious but always close to, I guess, the suburbs though I did have cause to think that if I had a heart attack there notwithstanding the capacity of two dogs to run for help it would be at least 15 minutes before some cyclist came by and stole my wallet lol. Annoying to be making a joke like that which is hilarious anyway but of course you will think I'm making a joke about Broadmeadows, which just shows how little you actually know, I don't do that gear.

So this is a view of the BVP. No-one's going to ever tell you this is its natural state. I have no idea whatsoever of its history, whether it's remnant farmland (seems likely - a lot of this area was first bought in a post-invasion period by John Pascoe Fawkner) or what. This is the area in 1966:

(I may have mentioned this before btw but that 'Lyons St' - the dotted line on the left there - is basically the side of a hill, the possibility of building on that is negligible and it does not/never did exist). The creek that goes off to the left there and subtly crosses the Bulla border a little is Yuroke Creek. You will see it again later. This 1966 map tells you nothing, but look at a contemporary map - we went off to the right towards the John Ilhan Memorial Park and then cut across at some point indiscernible from a map towards Greenvale and then south again. 

This house's 'sun room' addition always appealed to me. 

This house is new. Doubtlessly has a pretty great view:

As we walked I noted that Perry always took the opportunity to drink along the way but Ferdie was really pretty reluctant. He was panting pretty heavily but there weren't that many options for a drink so it was a nuisance when he wouldn't take the opportunity. So when we got to this ford I was feeling relieved, but not sure how he felt because... 

...he really wasn't that keen on drinking from it. I mean, yeah it probably isn't the cleanest water in the world but that doesn't usually bother a beagle. Anyway, Perry drank deeply from it. I had another one of those thoughts related to the heart attack one, where I was thinking - well, I'm crossing this and what if I slipped and fell and whatever? 'Whatever' indeed, it didn't happen. 

This car park - no longer accessible for the parking of cars - is I think the final relic of a high school which hasn't been here for 20 years at least, and wasn't there in 1966 either. 

This stone is remarkable. 

Here we are reunited with Yuroke Creek again, and finally Ferdie drank, basically his weight in water I think. 

Perry when we got home. 

It was a good walk on the whole with few drawbacks.