Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Moving to the blackheath???- help needed

3 replies

bigbadwritersblock · 27/01/2010 12:48

Hi Girls

My husband and I live in north london which we really love, but the dreaded blackwall tunnel journey everytime we see our family in Kent is getting me down, so I'm thinking about a move to Blackheath as I am expecting first baby in June - please could someone fill me in on pros and cons to the area

Thanks

OP posts:
IondonIady · 30/01/2010 19:33

Pros +Blackheath is much more relaxed than other areas of London. Ive lived in Hackney, Clapham, Elephant & Castle and all were much more hectic than this area.

+Theres some lovely bars, restaurants, cafes shops etc in Blackheath and Greenwich, not to mention Greenwich market with the fabulous Portuguese food stall.

+Theres many lovely period houses and there are areas which are much more reasonable than comparable places in London.

+The whole area is very green with loads of trees & open spaces. Greenwich park is on the doorstep and is fantastic at all times of the year for Adult walks, kid walks, great playground.

  • Its only 25mins drive to bluewater. Its also easy to drive north of the river. I regularly drive into the city in 30mins (off peak) and woodford 25mins.

Cons- public transport in the area is not as good as other areas of London. Having said that Blackheath has good train service to Victoria and London Bridge, you can use your payg oyster card now too.

Do spend some time here before you move so you make sure you pick the right area for you. 'Blackheath' can span a wide area in estate agent talk and all areas are different- eg the Village is v different to the Standard. Both are great- just for different things. Personally I like the Standard. It's much less pretentious and the m&s, bakery & library give it the edge! Hope this helps. Shout if you want more specific help.
PS Watch out for the Blackwall tunnel closures over the next few months.

Madsometimes · 05/02/2010 13:35

IondonIady has it covered!

Cons:

Trains from Blackheath are not great, so if you or dh need to commute to central London it will take longer and be more frustrating than from N London. Estate agents will sell the DLR and Jubilee line to you, but to reach these you will need to take a bus which will add time and unreliability onto a commute.

The Blackwall Tunnel can impact on the wider area. If an overheight lorry blocks the tunnel, expect all traffic in the surrounding area to grind to a halt. Of course all areas of London can suffer from traffic problems, but as the Blackwall Tunnel is the only local river crossing, any problems with it cause mayhem (I'm not counting the Woolwich Ferry because its capacity is so low).

The state secondary schools are not marvellous.

Pros:

Blackheath is a lovely place to live. It is near to Greenwich which has plenty to do, museums, park, river trips.

The state primary schools are very good, and if you want to go private then there are plenty of options too.

MumProf · 08/02/2010 10:22

Hi,

Why not try Hither Green/Lee - its ten mins walk from Blackheath, really friendly, good state primaries and miles cheaper than Blackheath.. (of course I'm biased because I live here...)

We also have friends in Kent (Canterbury) and it takes us 50 mins to get there door to door.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page