Crofton Park or Sydenham next?

[Cats_pyjamas]

If you were a young family of 4 looking to move out of East Dulwich would you look at Crofton Park or Sydenham?

Seen a decent house with a dodgy EA in Crofton P, but happy it's zone 2. Seen a better house in Sydenham but worried it'll feel too far out and Sydenham isn't as nice..

Thoughts?

[*Anna*]

I'd go Sydenham without a shout! Its turning around very quickly indeed following the over-grounds arrival which means fast trains to almost anywhere in town. Bobs Wines, Gurkha, The Dolphin pub, the best Italian in London (according to TripAdvisor), CP park, Mayow Park, good transport both in and out of the city (out to East Croydon etc) wider roads, good schools (state and private) are just to name a few of the attractions in my opinion!

Shame you just missed this: http://sydenhamarts.co.uk/

[Dodo1]

Hi

We moved last year to Sydenham after 16 years of living in Ed; and don't regret it.

One of the plus points for us is the better transport connections. As well as having access to the Overground we now have access to the line that goes to Victoria/ Orpington- stopping at Bromley/ Beckenham/ Brixton which is great.

And ED/ Peckham is only 15 mins by car which is nothing outside London.

[Cats_pyjamas]

Oh really, transport is better? I would have thought Crofton Park had better transport because you'd just walk back to Honor Oak and pick up the London Bridge service or the Overground.

Tell me if I'm missing something though!

[Dodo1]

Yes- because we do the same to Sydenham which means that you have a chance of getting a seat!

Also as I said earlier we now have access to the Victoria/ Orpington line which is great for lots of reasons.

[Cats_pyjamas]

Ah yes, the elusive seat!! Now that is a good point. Thanks :)

[Giacomelli]

We love Sydenham (and we live in the "dodgier" end), moved here earlier this year with toddler and baby. I now do so many more trips into town to museums etc because transport better than East Dulwich (option of penge east station too as well as Sydenham) There is also lots of great stuff to do locally with children. Definitely a bit rougher round the edges than ED but you can at least get a seat at a caf during the day (was finding ed had gotten mega crowded) And we like the parks in Sydenham and proximity to Crystal Palace. The queue in dulwich park cafe on a Saturday morning had gotten beyond ridiculous!! Haha! Ate in trattoria raffaele's on Tuesday night and it was delicious...

However also know someone who has just moved to crofton park and is very happy there.

I just wish Sydenham had a cinema. Maybe one day...!

[devsdev]

We live in HOP and Crofton Park is fantastic - but I imagine you'd get more for your money in Sydenham if you're willing to widen the net. Also trains from CP can be terrible as well because of overcrowding and cancellations (though very handy for getting into Blackfriars etc when they work) though obviously you can walk to HOP or Brockley to get Overground (but definitely not going to get a seat at either).

In Sydenham Mayow Park and Wells Park are gorgeous - worth a walk to see the area. Train connections from Sydenham are very good in general (plus you have access to Penge West and East or Lower Sydenham/Beckenham depending on where you are situated). You may also want to widen your search area into parts of Beckenham which is absolutely lovely (there's a thread on here about the area) and you'll get even more for your money by comparison to Crofton Park.

[lollol]

We moved to Sydenham a few months ago having lived 6 years before in Forest Hill. Forest Hill and Easy Dulwich are nicer but the high street is very handy, Mayow Park is lovely and the transport links are great and there is a great community here. We were also able to get a big Edwardian house in a calm street and we have lovely neighbours! We looked at HOP and CP but did not like the busy road and there was no park nearby so depends what you are looking for!

[Justasking]

Also consider SE20, a bit further out but near the buzz of Crystal Palace. It now has four outstanding primaries. We love it here. Trains to Victoria in 20 mins, depending where you are there are also trains to London Bridge in about the same amount of time.

[Cats_pyjamas]

Oh thank you so much, and devsdev - that was a perfect comparison! Actually the places are the same price and similar square footage although Syd has a slightly larger garden.

With both options, we are 13 mins walk to a park.

With Crofton Park, we would be in the catchment for Beecroft Garden school for sure. And we'd also need a nursery or childcare for a baby.

With Sydenham, I find the schools a bit more confusing. Looks like it's bit of a further walk to Harris Academy at Crystal P, or Alexandra Infants. Not sure if anyone has experience of these.

Crofton Park's road seems busy, and crazy polluted. But the cafes and facilities are great!

Sydenham's a little poorer in terms of cool cafes and supermarket, but we would be closer to the train station.

Does anyone have a magic 8 ball..?

[Bovine Juice]

My son went to Alexandra Infants many moons ago. Has been Outstanding for years. Plenty of excellent or outstanding infants and juniors now around Penge these days though.

[devsdev]

Beecroft is excellent but it was one of the primaries cited in the study about schools in high pollutions zones if that's a factor. Try FB - SE23 Mums is definitely helpful and I'm sure there's a Sydenham group which will help re: schools. You should definitely be in reasonable catchment areas. Crofton Park is really lovely, and so is Sydenham.

Go with your gut. Walk around both this weekend since it's going to be nice. I'd personally plump for Sydenham (having walked around Crofton Park loads and parts of Sydenham, the latter is more suburban and leafy). But it's your gut!

[poppet27]

I'd say Crofton is slightly younger, artier and hipper due to proximity to Brockley. Syd is marginally quieter and more family orientated but you're sort of comparing apples with apples.

No idea whether long-term, your money is best invested in one over the other postcode.

[sylviamaria]

We moved to the Corbett Estate in Catford (SE6) 3 years ago and really love it. There are 3-4 great schools, 2 nice parks in waliking distance (mountsfield and forster), trains from both Hither Green and the Catford stations and a lovely community feel. The houses are very generous, as are the gardens, and there is a community-run playing field/cafe within the estate as well.

[fergju]

We moved to Sydenham / Penge East 18 months ago and haven't looked back. We loved our house and location in ED but just got so much more for the money. We now live on the side of Alexandra Rec on a very quite road looking into the park with a huge garden something we would never have been able to afford in ED. The area has come up really fast with more bars / restaurants etc in the pipeline. the old Alex bar should be opened by the Late Knights soon, I hear the Greyhound has been bought, and the ground floor of the Sydenham Centre is apparently turning into a microbrewery. We did look at Crofton Park but for us it felt further out of town.

[Bovine Juice]

fergju Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> and the ground floor of the Sydenham

> Centre is apparently turning into a microbrewery.

Really? Whose brewery?

[Honoroaky]

We moved from ED to between crofton park and ladywell (trains into Waterloo east and Cannon Street which is very handy) last year and are very happy! We had friends in this area and wanted to be able to cycle into work still, so Sydenham seemed a little too far for us but I'd be tempted to go for more space if that wasn't a consideration!

[Bovine Juice]

Southeastern are finally improving the night time service at the end of the month. Quarter hourly from Charing Cross to Ladywell until 11pm.