I want to live in…Forest Hill

Do you like stuffed animals? (Well I do), then Forest Hill in South East London is the place for you. The Horniman museum has a huge collection and would be on your doorstep if you bought here.

And a lot of people have been purchasing properties in the area. I’m not sure if it is due to the extensive taxidermy offering or the leafy streets and still fairly reasonable prices. Reasonable for London you understand, not in the traditional sense of the word.

The housing stock is mainly Victorian to 1930s semis. Sunderland Road and Thorpewood Avenue are very smart streets and Elsinore Road has some very desirable properties.

Near-by Brockley, Crofton Park and Crystal Palace are already too pricey, so this area is definitely worth a look.

Famous for

With a range of architectural styles spanning the late 19th and 20th centuries, Forest Hill was described by Sir Norman Foster as “a delightful pocket of South London”. Raymond Chandler, mystery and thriller writer lived here, albeit a long time ago.

Positives

It is on a hill, so some tasty views are available from certain homes. The Overground means you can get around London much easier than before. You can’t spend every day staring at stuffed wild cats.

Negatives

It is quartered by the South Circular (some streets are used as a bit of a rat run) and a noisy rail line cuts through the area. The centre also lacks enough decent bars and restaurants. Not quite the village feel you might expect, from somewhere called Forest Hill.

Transport Links

Decent, the Overground passes through here, and connects you north to Shoreditch and Highbury. Also train London Bridge (14 minutes, every 15) to Victoria just over 30 minutes.

Schools

Primaries: Christ Church CofE, Horniman, Dalmain, Perrymount, Holy Trinity CofE and Kelvin Grove all “good”, says Ofsted, with Eliot Bank “outstanding”. Secondaries: both Forest Hill and Sydenham schools are “good”.

Drink/Eat

St David Coffee House for a coffee. The Honor Oak pub has just been completely refurbished and is now a swanky gastro-pub. The Thai Orchard restaurant does decent- you guessed it – Thai food.