What’s going for it? You’ll often find me red-faced in Manor House Gardens, striding the circuit with a pushchair, shushing at any noise-emitting entity who dares come close. Hither Green is one of my prime get-the-kid-to‑sleep routes. It combines, in one handy neighbourhood, everything me and the nipper need: preprandial children’s library, postprandial ice-cream at the gardens’ cafe, an ace playground with that secret tree that all the kids climb, and an endless supply of fellow parents with whom to exchange sleep-deprived-but-knowing looks and emergency nappies, should the proverbial hit the hand drier. For, yes, there is a nice public loo, too. I am very much not alone. Hither Green is one of those plum breeding grounds for Londoners priced out of Peckham, gentrified out of Greenwich. Good schools; good train links; lovely parks; not cheap, but the lesser of all local property price evils; and ice-cream. Did I mention the ice-cream? It’s the little things, you see, that get parents through the day.
The case against The neighbourhood is riven in two by the railway line, practically (there are few crossing points, hence bad traffic) and in spirit.
Well connected? Trains: four an hour to London Cannon Street (19-21 minutes), connecting with the overground at New Cross; up to six to Charing Cross (21-27 minutes), many stopping at London Bridge. Driving: the A2 and A20 get you to the M25 in 15-25 minutes; the South Circular passes by to the south.
Schools Primaries: Trinity CofE, St Mary’s Lewisham CofE and St Saviour’s RC are all “good”, says Ofsted, with St Margaret’s Lee CofE, Brindishe Lee, Brindishe Green and Brindishe Manor “outstanding”. Secondaries: Trinity CofE is “good”.
Hang out at… Pistachios In The Park, elbowing me in the queue for mint choc chip; Archibald’s for the best coffee.
Where to buy The neighbourhood is almost entirely composed of Victorian and Edwardian terraces, with the odd stretch of semi, postwar or 1920s infill. Poshest are the large semis on the avenues between Effingham and Southbrook Roads; or the terraces between Manor House Gardens and the station. Cheaper towards Lee and the South Circular. A fair few doer-uppers. Semis, £1m-£1.4m. Terraces and cottages, £450,000-£950,000. Flats: three beds, £400,000-£650,000; one bed, £250,000-£380,000. Rentals: one-bed flat, £900-£1,250pcm; three-bed house, £1,500-£1,800pcm.
Bargain of the week Four-bed house with a decent garden, £600,000, with Winkworth.
From the streets
Dom Blower “A secondary school black hole.”
Anna Nohr “The hipster cafe, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers. As well as the Good Hope cafe.”
Laura Neuveglise “I didn’t think community was possible in 21st-century London. I was wrong.”
Suszi Saunders “Prices have risen a lot, but still much more affordable than neighbouring areas.”
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