I guess some people were not brought up with the natural ability to stagger uphill.
I find I can get up the hill quicker in the dark after a few drinks.
I think everybody on my street has a sledge in their house/garage. But you do need to be prepared to be cut off in the winter. Sometimes the snow is so bad that we all have to stay home and have a snowballl fight work from home, rather than risk the icy hill to and from work.
If you want to have a snowball fight with a Canadian you should make sure you put your affairs in order. This bronze piece by the artist Gathie Falk. It sits in my office reception and is called Arsenal. Like our ice hockey and curling, we take our batailles de boules de neige seriously.
I live on Duncombe hill in HOP. My side of the road and the opposite side of the road on Lowther hill have private access to Brockley Hill Park… one of only two private parks in London. There’s a great community organising events - bbqs, tennis tournaments, fireworks etc. I don’t have kids but it seems the most amazing place for kids to grow up and play.
I backed onto it also and have 2 young children - it’s amazing for them. Of course we are very lucky with Blythe Hill just up the road also, so having this little wood that can be directly accessed from our back garden, with no roads etc around it is truly amazing.
I’ll see if I can dig our a picture of the last time it snowed in there.Also I really should have mentioned Duncombe Hill on my post further up - think I had Dalmain catchment in my mind as opposed to Stillness.
Overall most areas are good. The not so great areas are pretty obvious. Anywhere on the South Circular (for health and noise reasons). The end of Devonshire Rd towards Forest Hill station (its obvious when you go and look). The ambulance station at the bottom of Manor Mount is perfectly fine. They are always on call and they only change shift there. They don’t turn the sirens on until they get on the South Circular, so there’s no noise that comes from it.
If you are concerned about dense social housing, they are also pretty obvious. Or you can look up the London depravity map.
On school catchments. Don’t believe a word any agent says. Measure it yourself using the official report from the Lewisham website. They are notoriously small and there are several areas which are black holes. This will restrict you massively if it’s a concern (and cost you!).
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Weird. It says last year the furthest place was 823m, and Ebsworth (rough calc on Google maps) is 250-300m at most. Having said that half the admissions were siblings. So that 823m could include a sibling. When I was looking at a property on Ebsworth a while ago, I remember the distance was hovering around 350-450m. I think the previous years reports have been removed from the website. I can’t find them.
But yes. The situation is pretty dire. And Dalmain has a massive housing estate next to it which probably makes up most of the intake.
Dalmain extended this year because Fairlawn had a bulge and is in very high demand. Expect it to return to the normal 400 or so meters next year.
It’s a nice place (and less than 10 mins to station from there). We are on perry rise and love it. Good schools/nurseries nearby and beautiful Mayow Park only a few mins walk.
Thanks Will! We’ve been wandering the neighbourhood and quite like the look of Aylward Road - you think a good choice? The estates to the south of Perry Vale and towards the station look fine to me - normal London flats…but presume they are all safe to walk through and no general problems?
I live three min from there and never had a problem in ten years, you already acknowledge London living and I wouldn’t worry about that location, there is no guarantee anywhere to be 100% save
we live not far from the Baptist Church in Perry Rise. been walking, driving and cycling up and down Perry Rise and Perry Vale to the station and Forest Hill centre for many years, all times of day and night and never encountered any unpleasant issues in the area. Usually plenty of other pedestrians about.
356 bus is useful if you are in a hurry. 75 bus goes to Lewisham/Catford. Not too far to walk to either Catford/Catford Bridge or Forest Hill stations so if one train line is out there’s usually another one that will do. Traffic on Perry Vale is a bit speedy, and there is the occasional accident. But socially a good place to live. The All Inn One is a very fine local.
Aylward is a nice quiet road away from the main traffic with a quieter walk to station option via the old church on the hill. Local fish and chip shop, dry cleaners, café, barbers , convenience stores and hairdressers in Perry Vale are all long established and friendly places. The local GP surgery and dentist are both excellent. Did I mention we like it here? It is the right side of the tracks after all.
We moved here 7 months ago and never had any problems at all. Very friendly neighbours and as Thor mentioned, along Perry Vale are some shops, the GP and a great caff. There’s a baby group at the church too. Feels safer than other areas we’ve lived in london and lots of good community events (and of course this forum). Good luck finding a place!
Perhaps consider the roads around Kilmorie Primary School as it is one of the larger primary schools (with a three form intake) and this reflects in the catchment area - although this year was larger than usual. It was recently awarded outstanding in all areas (that is virtually unheard of) and if you read the Ofsted report you can get a feel for the great community and supportive nature of the school. Do not worry about the size of the school as it has a strong community feel and the head teacher and everyone involved with the school are excellent. The wrap around care is very good especially now that it operates from the building that was previously the nursery as it is very well equipped and has a really nice feel - from 7:45am to 6:30pm.
I would back you up there regarding Kilmorie. I have old friends that work there & I’ve known the Head for a long time as well. It had just had an outstanding Ofsted, due to their hard work & commitment.
Where did you hear that? On the 2015 catchment area for Dalmain listed on Findaschool, this easily covers all of Ebsworth street
It was the word on the street when I moved in back in 2013 - good to see the catchment has increased since then.
Both sides of Ebsworth have definitely been in catchment for Dalmain since at least 2012 as I checked when I moved here!
We live close to Mayow Park. 10 mins walk to the station and very quiet, good community feel.
Buying in Forest Hill/Honor Oak? Guys: I think we’ve found the winner of the last Euromillions!
