Audreyhepburn

I have lived in Valaud Crescent for 30 years. In that time I have seen families grow up and leave the nest, but parents have remained. Most people who live in this street have been here for at least 20 years and some their whole married lives. Generally houses in this street rarely come up for sale and when they do they are usually bought within a week. There have been more sales recently as some of the older residents have died or moved into retirement facilities. Our 3 children grew up here and we are now seeing a new generation of young children playing cricket on the streets just as ours did. Overlooking the bush, not only do we have magnificent views, including the ocean, but the most wonderful summer breezes that neither our brother in Curry Street Merewether nor our mother in Dixon Park are able to get. Other than mowers on Sundays, the only noise we hear is the beautiful bird life, particularly the bell birds and the cicadas.
We have been privileged to see on several occasions the elusive Regent Bower Bird (once had a whole backyard of females with one male-amazing) which many people come to Glenrock to try and find. Before the Fernleigh track was even thought of, the Yulebah trail was constructed to go down to Glenrock Lagoon . This wonderful treck can be joined near the end of Valaud Crescent and winds its way through the bush for a one hour trip. When I went, there were so many native birds, but the big surprise for me was a magnificent white sea eagle sitting in a tree in a clearing.
In the Glenrock State Park (opposite Valaud crescent) there are also many mountain bike tracks. Then of course there is the Fernleigh track (It was a working train line when we arrived here. My boys used to jump on the back of the coal wagons, something which they told me much later). My husband has often used this track to get to work in Hamilton. This enabled us to have only one car and saved us a great deal of money. We are in the processs of trying to selll our home (the house is too big for us and I am having trouble with the stairs due to a knee injury), much beloved to us, and my greatest concern is that we will not be able to find anywhere as beautiful, as peaceful, as convenient, as child-friendly, as safe and as private as here. I grew up in Charlotte Street Merewether Heights with magnificent ocean views and views to Sugarloaf, but I have been much happier here. Visiting my parents' home you are nearly blown away on a windy day. Here we get the sea breezes and the southerlies, but the westerlies go straight over the top of us.
It is only 5 minutes to Westfield (Garden City/Kotara Fair) and Charlestown Square and 10 minutes to the beaches. We have wonderful feeder schools with high academic standards. This little part of Newcastle (or Lake Macquarie if you will) is like a hidden spot that most people don't know of. But that doesn't mean that it isn't as valuable and desirable a street as many in Merewether. It will be very difficult to leave.