New to Crouch End

[jgeorge]

Hello I'm new to Mumsnet and new to Crouch End - my dd is 9 weeks old and we've just moved to the area. I'd really like to meet other mums and so far I'm floundering!! Any good tips? Coffee mornings/activities etc? Thanx!

Hi jgeorge, welcome to Crouch End! It's a great place to live, though I'm more up towards Stroud Green. I'm not a mum yet (due at Christmas) but wondered if you had been to the leisure centre at Park Road. I am pretty sure that they have post-natal exercise classes that you can take your lo too, as well as the pre-natal splashing about classes I'm doing. If you were to pop in I'm sure that reception would be able to tell you. Let me know if you want any more general tips on the local area and I'll try to help...

Thanks rubydarling i'll go and have a look - that sounds great. I must admit I'm thrilled with Crouch End, it seems like a great place to have kids in London.

Aaaargh I just spent ages on a message and it lost it.

First of all, jgeorge, the Haringey NCT website has contact details for groups of local mums. You don't have to be a member to go along to a coffee morning where there's one organised, I don't think. I think there might not be a name for Crouch End at the moment but Cathy Neale who coordinates the local NCT contacts can tell you if there's anyone you can get in touch with

Cathy's a very helpful lady who also taught a postnatal course I went on - I enjoyed the 6 week course and those of us who were on it (7 of us) have continued to meet up - we have a date for the 4th consecutive week next Wednesday, and it's really become a highlight of my week. If she's teaching any more courses this autumn and you can afford £60 it's worthwhile, though I realise cash may be tight.

Burghley Road Under 5's Community Centre isn't in Crouch End, it's near Turnpike Lane tube (so not very far) and they have a Jolly Babies drop in from 1-4 on Monday afternoons. I went for the first time last Monday and was made very welcome, definitely plan to go back, probably fairly regularly but not this Monday coming.

Finally, I'm on maternity leave with a 14 week old son at the moment and also looking to get out and meet more other new mums in Haringey. I live a couple of miles east of you in Tottenham but love having excuses to come to Crouch End to visit charity shops and visit your lovely baby friendly cafes. If you and dd would like to meet Danny and myself, you're welcome to email me - I use my mumsnet username and I'm on yahoo dot co dot uk.

Whatever you do or don't do, come back and let us know how you get on, or what you've found.

Hello elkiedee and thank you for your message - that's so useful. I must admit I have tried the Haringey NCT and been in touch with Cathy who was very helpful indeed but I haven't had any luck getting hold of any of the NCT Crouch End contacts - bad time of year I think. Drop-ins sound ideal as I can't really afford to sign up to classes at the moment.

Hi welcome. I'm up the road but my kids are a wee bit older than your wee one (the youngest being 3.6 yrs)

If you want I can let you have a copy of Haringey Families (a local newsletter) and that should give you some info. I'm at the foot of Ally Pally. You can email me on lovelymarslady at aol dot com

Welcome to the area and to Mumsnet

Hi marslady - thank you for posting, much appreciated. We are now booked in for swimming on Sunday and an exercise class tomorrow so I'm making progress! Someone mentioned to me that there is a mums meet up in highgate woods once a week... I've been to investigate and couldn't find any info. Does any one know about it?

Hello jgeorge and welcome

I'm out of the loop when it comes to activities for babies and new mums I'm afraid but I can suggest the following venues:-

Union Church and Community Centre, Weston Park N8

The libraries in Crouch End (just re-opened), Muswell Hill, Highgate etc

I haven't been for ages but I know they run various activities (sometimes only during term-time)

Let me know if you'd like any further info/details (and add a listing if you find something you'd like to recommend to other Haringey parents!)

Mercy
Haringey Tsarina

(even though MarsLady almost certainly knows more than I do!!)

Hi jgeorge and everybody else. I've just joined mumsnet - what a great thing this is!!

I have a 22 month old and 7 month old and go out and about in Crouchy most days to groups. There's a childrens centre on Crouch Hill called Red Gables that do free drop-ins (I think Thursday morning is for babies). The Harringey Club YMCA also has loads going on as does the church hall at the bottom of Cranley Gardens (at the end of Park Road). There's also the community Centre on the edge of Stationers Park (Mayfield Road I think) that has a big programme of activities. There's a music group called Mabel's Monsters on Mondays and Tick-Tock music on Fridays.

I hope that helps a bit? It's a great area for the kiddies so I'm sure you'll have lots of fun.

x

Just looked at your profile jgeorge. New York Cheesecake is my favorite thing in the whole wide world ever! If you want to get together and look for a perfect one in Crouchy do let me know.

Hi Muumi - good to meet you and thank you for your suggestions! Crouch End seems to be bursting with things to do - I will give some of these a try.

Does anyone know of a playgroup for fathers with their babies on weekends? My husband feels a bit left out...

I know the library/children's near me (I'm in Tottenham 2 miles east of Crouch End) does music and messy play on Saturday morning - and dads are welcome to those as well as mums. I've not been on Saturday but am going to get my partner to go at some point.

Apparently Park Road does swimming lessons for babies on Sundays - one parent and child for £6, both parents and a child for £10.

And there's a Dads group that meets and does lots of outings every couple of weeks, I believe it's based in Wood Green. I'll find the details for you later on or in the next few days.

I'm pretty sure the main Hornsey library in Haringey Park has a Dad's session at w/e, but there are usually Dads at the Haringey club etc. The library has a drop-in/sing-song on a Thursday morning & another group meets there on a Tuesday. The playgroup in the Union Church (junction Ferme Park Road & Weston Park) has a waiting list - just drop in and speak to the couple that run it, but there are other groups that meet there, baby massage, music etc, as there are at Stationers & the Haringey Club - website via the YMCA Hornsey. Enjoy!

I hope ao's Husband has found some playgroups....

I am some years past this stage, but I do remember going to playgroups and getting the feeling that some of the mums were wondering who the aging pervert was...

Also I discovered in one (friendly - really nice people) playgroup that a rumour had spread that my wife was deceased....

My feeling is that things are much better now; particularly, I might say in Crouch End.

I've met about 4 dads and a grandad, and 2 of those are regulars most weeks, 1 of them on the volunteers' rota, at the Jolly Babies group in Wood Green. However, that's on a Monday afternoon.

Hi there - we're thinking about moving to London and Crouch End seems a good place to choose. What attracted you to the area?

Hello Freddiemum!

I live just outside Crouch End and moved to the area more by accident than design tbh (and years before I had children). It's a reasonably quiet place, liberal/leftie, and a pretty affluent area. The East of the borough is in contrast rather deprived (but still has lots going for it imo).

Good connections to central London (Turnpike Lane tube - 10/15 mins to Kings Cross, Hornsey BR station to Moorgate in 20 mins)

Crouch End has lots of attractions for families, some of which are mentioned on this thread. But basically -

Priory Park - decent play area, cafe and a building to hire for parties

Alexandra Palace - huge area to go for walks, Farmer's Market, ice rink, shows and exhibitions at the Palace itself

Queen's Wood and Highgate Wood - great places for walking etc (easy to forget you're not in London)

Finsbury Park - revamped play area and cafe

Park Road - swimming pool

Crouch End itself has lots of cafes and restaurants which are family-friendly. Also a couple of toy and bookshops. There are also plenty of organised activities for parents and children of all ages, including Hornsey Library. Also has a big M&S food hall . You will also see quite a lot of familiar TV bods in the area!

It's also within easy reach of Wood Green High Road and also Brent Cross and Ikea aren't too far away.

The downside is the outrageous house prices and the competition for places at the better schools.

There's loads more I could write tbh - perhaps if you have some questions we could try to be more specific in our help!

Hello Freddiemum

Just wanted to agree with everything Mercy says.

I've lived here for about three years, and it's the only place in London I wanted to live.

Central Crouch End doesn't have a tube station; I think this adds to its "villagey" feel. It has good traditional shops like butchers, bakers, greengrocers, and as Mercy mentions a good farmers market at Ally Pally. There are good local parks, and it's easy to get across to Hampstead Heath.

It is also renowned for being absolutely full of babies and children, with Bugaboos basically everywhere you look.

House prices though, are bonkers. And your ease of travelling around depends on exactly where in Crouch End you settle. I am walking distance between both Crouch End and Finsbury Park, which is ideal as Finsbury Park has fantastic connections to the City and Kings Cross as well as two good tube lines.

What else would you like to know?

Thanks so much for your helpful replies! Crouch End sounds like the sort of place we'd like to live. You mentioned that places at good schools are scarce. All advice about good schools (both private and state) in the Crouch End / Highgate area would be most welcome!

Ah, wobbegong summed it up really well!

Tbh I don't really know schools in that area (btw not all of Highgate comes under LB Haringey) but another local mum called MarsLady might do - plus she has a wider age range of children than I do. Keep an eye out for her!

Mercy's point about boroughs absolutely correct; you need to find out about schools in Camden and Islington as well as a Highgate resident might well be within the admission radius of schools in both these boroughs. For example I live halfway between Crouch End and Highgate, on the south side of Hornsey Lane which puts me in Islington -the boundary here runs down Hornsey Lane.

The local independents are Highgate School which has recently, I believe, started to go co ed from boys only, and Channing School for girls both in Highgate.

There are a number of well regarded primary schools actually in Crouch End. There is also Highgate Primary, St Michaels C of E in Highgate and Ashmount School on Hornsey Lane, which both my children went through and of which I am still a school Governor.

Hi there,

I am 34 weeks pregnant and living in Crouch end, are there any other heavily pregnant Mums who might fancy meeting for a coffee?

Hi Nicola68

I'm only 23 weeks with my 2nd baby and I'm back at work in the meantime, but would love to meet once I'm on maternity leave (early in the New Year - I'm only going back in to work for a couple of days after Christmas but will be away at my mum's before that - and/or have had the new baby at the end of January.

I keep meaning to find out about whether I could still get on to some of Park Road Swimming Pool's aqua natal classes on Wednesday evenings.

There's an NCT nearly new sale on Weston Park coming up this Saturday afternoon - I will probably have dp and our crazy toddler with me but hopefully there will be refreshments such as coffee and home made cakes on offer there. If you think you might fancy it respond on here and we'll work out how to identify each other.

Haringey Families also has a nearly new sale (they're most months) just off Park Road the following Saturday morning, but I'm probably going to venture to Walthamstow NCT's sale instead that morning.

Hi Nicola 68 and Elkiedee

I also live in crouch end and have 2 sons: a 3 year old and a 3 week old baby.

I would love to meet for a coffee with local mums and exchange information about the local area. We can arrange to meet up in New Year if anyone is interested.