Where to buy in Lee Hither Green or Catford

[Cisco2]

Hi i'm looking for some advice. My husband and I are looking to buy in SE London have a max budget of £650k. Looking for a 2 (or ideally 3) bedroom house somewhere in SE London with a good sized garden. We need links to Cannon St and Charing Cross for work so we've pinpointed Hither Green/Lee/Catford areas as we love period properties.

Our issue is we don't know these areas well but from what we have researched (and to be honest apart from mumsnet and Homes and Property in Evening Standard we don't know much!) it seems affordable with good transport links.

We don't have children yet but hoping to by 2020 so a safe, family friendly area with good schools nearby is very very important.

So...looking for people's experiences living in these areas. We want to view some properties this weekend but don't want to view too many as feeling quite overwhelmed as so much on offer. One estate agent sent us two properties but after looking on street view we decided not to go ahead to view as the roads looked rough. Can anyone suggest particularly nice roads or ones to avoid?

We are not looking for a flat and please no recommendations to other areas. We have ruled out East, North and West London as we just cant afford it so now looking at SE London. We are not looking to do work to property and ideally just want somewhere we can move in, with a friendly community. Any advice welcome! (Sorry for the long post).
Thanks.

[Queenbean]

Hither green is fantastic, ticks all your boxes and more. The only issue is that there isn’t loads of restaurants / shops but it’s a quick hop to Blackheath

Catford is “on the up” but still grotty imo.

Lee is nice housing wise but quiet.

Hither green has the best transport links - it’s on two lines whereas lee is on one. HG is only 9 minutes in to London Bridge on the fast train!

[Queenbean]

Oh and re streets, the nice streets are around Manor Lane / that side of the station. Staplehurst, Longhurst, Leahurst and round there nice.

Other side of the tracks (towards Brownhill Road) has some lovely houses too but not considered so nice by the HG locals.

[DustandRubble]

Those areas the pp mentioned are nice. If you do Catford, the Corbett Estate is lovely. It has a close community and good schools. Do check distance from schools though as you can get yourself in a catchment black spot. The people I know who live there have made a really good network of local friends. Houses are in your budget. There are nice cafes and bars in Catford but it has a way to go yet. It does seem to be changing fast.

You could also look at the bits of Catford that meet Forest Hill. Then you get the benefits of Forest Hill.

[EmmaStone]

Agree with Queenbean - used to live in Hither Green (albeit more than 10 years ago now) near Manor House Gardens, wouldn't have considered Lee or Catford at the time. No idea about schools though...

[Cisco2]

Thank you Queenbean really helpful, that is exactly the info I am looking for makes narrowing our search easier!

[Chocolatecake12]

Just to mention that those areas have good primary schools but IMO terrible secondary schools so be prepared to move when your child reaches 10 years old to a better area for secondary school choices.
Catford is better than it used to be. As pp suggested the Corbett estate ( where I grew up!) is nice and in your budget. So is longhill rd, birkhill rd, waterbank rd, with Bellingham station being your closest.
Hither green has good transport links.
Lee is closer to blackheath for fantastic firework displays on 5th Nov! Plus restaurants and the cafe culture is nice there too.

[Cisco2]

Thanks DustandRubble especially your recommendation of the Corbett Estate. Is the Corbett Estate walkable to Hither Green? Would that be the nearest station? I saw somewhere you need a car if you live in Catford. We don't drive so walking distance to Hither Green or Lee stations would be good..

[EssentialHummus]

I’d get on to the schoolcatchment.co.uk site and get a sense of schools to steer your search a bit. A friend in Catford raves about the Ladywell Prendergast school (historically not great, now apparently great).

Blythe Hill Fields is a lovely park.

[Cisco2]

Thank you Emma why did you move from Hither Green?! Lots of the houses list they are "nearby Manor House Garden" even ones that say they are Corbett houses I guess we will find out once we view this weekend!

Thanks Chocolatecake12 for the recommendation on the roads and helpful tips about secondary schools. Our plan is to be in this home for at least 7-10 years so probably would have moved out of London by secondary (we both have family in Kent so a move there at some point is likely)

[Cisco2]

Queenbean is Blackheath walking distance? Just thinking about restaurants and local things on. We saw a nice parade of shops in Hither Green but no restaurants (will need to check out Lee restaurant/cafe culture mentioned above)

[Cisco2]

Thanks EssentialHummus will check out school catchments for sure!

[Queenbean]

I disagree with the poster above that Corbett estate would put Bellingham as closest station. At the top end, it would be Hither Green and at the bottom end you’re gettjng towards a no-man’s land of long walk to whichever station you go to

Blackheath is a walk away from one side of hither green and a definite bus ride from the other, but buses go about every 10 mins so very easy.

Ideally, the area around Manor House Gardens would be perfect as that’s a short walk to the restaurants on Lee High Road and also close to the one (absolutely lovely) pub that Hither Green has

You have lots of choice in your budget too OP

[EmmaStone]

We left London, hence the move . I'd look at houses on the "right side of the tracks" - ie south from HG station towards Manor House Gardens. When we looked, I narrowed it down to 3 streets after walking around the area and knowing rough prices. You'll probably be able to do similar.

Blackheath is walking distance - about 20-25 mins from memory - we actually moved from Blackheath to Hither Green, and I don't recall going back into Blackheath that often after we moved, not sure why.

And we have friends in Catford/Ladywell, moved to get into specific secondary school catchment for next year, although the name escapes me, so not much help to you.

[DustandRubble]

There are bits of the Corbett that are a 15-20 min walk to Hither Green station. Or possibly to Catford Bridge. It is a bit further though, which is why it has been cheaper I think. We actually didn't buy there as we thought that extra 5 minutes was too much. I wouldn't make the same decision now.

[Playlovelive]

We live in Hither Green and absolutely love it. Beautiful parks, great nurseries and primary schools, so much for young kids to do (we have a 2 year old and have a toddler 'class' every day of the week). Agree with what others have said - living close to Manor House Gardens is a huge plus.

There's also the extension of the Bakerloo line to Lewisham coming, so between the DLR at Lewisham and the good train links in Hither Green you can get almost anywhere in London pretty easily.

There are slowly restaurants appearing too (I've heard rumours of an Italian restaurant opening on the high street soon too).

We looked at similar areas to you and have been so happy with our choice! Hope you find a happy home!!

[LetItGoHome]

Have you looked at New Eltham. 2 stops up from Lee but much nicer. Lovely community feel. Great schools. Zone 4 but only 20 minutes on a regular train service to both Charing cross or cannon Street. It's worth checking out.

[crwilson]

Hi there, does anybody live on Leahurst Road or able to comment on how busy/noisy it is? It seems to be a thoroughfare / learner-driver route. We have viewed some properties there but we are concerned about the noise levels from traffic. Thank you!

[HappyFeet3]

New Eltham is very different (not bad, just different) to Hither Green so I wouldn’t have suggested that area. I know Leahurst. It’s a nice road although there’s definitely a better end (nearer the pub / Brindishe Manor) you’ll notice the difference when you walk down the road. I would say it’s a cut through for traffic but in terms of noise not any busier than most roads near stations in London.

[PenguinsRabbits]

We looked round one there years ago and think there was some road traffic and driving lessons taking place there but not too bad. The house had suffered subsidence though so we didn't proceed. Their little boy sold it to me for £10

[Janeyoftheblock]

We recently moved from Hackney just before DD arrived and explored all 3 of these areas for a good 6 months so plenty to say on this!

Catford is on the busy/basic side and we quickly ruled it out. Lots of traffic and no cool spots yet. But Hither Green and Lee are both excellent for young families.

Hither has good primary schools and trains to central London are v frequent. The Station pub is great and there’s a few cool shops etc in the villagey centre. Key to living in Hither is being on “the right side of the tracks”. Best streets are Leahurst, Longhurst and Fernbrook. Other side of the tracks is towards Catford. Parking on the best streets in Hither is a nightmare so beware of that. Other main drawback of Hither is that it’s not easy to get to Blackheath.

Lee is a bit less trendy for now, but is getting there - esp as the priced-out Blackheath crowd move there. I think some of it is in the catchment areas for good Hither schools. Lee also has an excellent pub in the Lord Northbrook and is literally just down the road from Blackheath. Best roads are Southbrook and Micheldever but houses there are huge and cost a fortune. Other good roads are Upwood and Dallinger. Don't go beyond the south circular. Trains are less frequent than Hither but still fine. It's the same line and because it’s the stop before Hither you have more chance of getting a seat.

Manor Park is in between Hither and Lee. Has a nice lake and great playground for kids. Proximity to the park is definitely worth factoring in to a move.

Ultimately, Hither (on the right side of the tracks) is best for a great villagey vibe and some cool places on your doorstep. But be prepared for a bunfight for a parking space on the best roads. Lee is on the up and best if you want more space and easy access to Blackheath.