Hither Green area for families & sec schools?

[GardenFlowers83]

Priced out of Blackheath and others have suggested Hither Green. Would be for a 3-bed (DH, me & 1 DC). Primaries are great but which secondaries are decent? (Non-Catholic).

Is it a nice area to live? Is there much going on? Is there a proper centre, eg useful shops, restaurants? Not sure about the area. Need to do more walking around but interested to know what it's like for young families and those with secondary aged DC.

We've been renting in Blackheath and love it as there is so much going on, plus access to Greenwich Park. If you live in Hither Green does Greenwich Park feel too far to walk?

Bump

There are some thriving little shops near there and then Lewisham for any major purchases. Excellent primaries with the Brindishe ones but not sure on secondaries apart from Trinity which I think is Catholic. You may be in Thomas Tallis catchment on the other hand.

If secondary school is a major factor then I would look further out I’m afraid like Bromley and Beckenham.

My info is 20 years old. Back then there was a corner shop and a chippy near the station and that was pretty much it. There were a few shops in Lee, also near the station.

Tons of stuff in Lewisham but be careful what you have on you when you shop there. Despite having the biggest police station in the Southeast, horses and helicopters, crime rates rocketed after it opened. Lee is a very nothingy place. Not much going on, a bit rough, not as bad as Lewisham.

Your best place for fancy shopping, boutiques, antiques and fancy food is Blackheath. Same for restaurants. I frequently got taxis there for nights out and they didn't cost much.

No, I don't think Greenwich Park is walkable from Hither Green.

It was leafy, suburban and pretty when I lived there, but also a bit of a no man's land.

The Victorian conversion flat I lived in backing onto the nature reserve was stunning.

Also, I remember the train service into London was pretty horrific with regular cancellations, look into that.

In terms of kids I know nothing, except to say there frequently seemed to be stuff going on in Blackheath on the heath or Greenwich. Greenwich also has a brilliant fireworks display.

If you need to be in that South East direction to get into central London, have you also considered Eltham? Some areas of it have a bad rep, but the older parts of it have stunning massive Georgian/Victorian houses and felt quite safe.

Please bear in mind this info is OLD, perhaps try to find some other threads on Mumsnet.

Hither Green has a village feel so in amongst all the period buildings there are two or three cafes, a bar and a pub and a few little nick nack shops. All these are on one little stretch near the station. For anything of any substance you have to go to Lee or Lewisham. Lee is ok, only a tiny bit bigger than Hither Green and not really rough but Lewisham is not nice at all. Blackheath is of course lovely.

@GardenFlowers83 I grew up in Hither Green and the parade of shops along to the station has certainly "gentrified" in that time. The streets around that area have recently been made an LTN (Google if you're not familiar!) so can make driving in certain directions tricky. There's a Lidl and a large Sainsbury's as well as a small Sainsbury's near the train station. A couple of small parks (Manor House Gardens and Manor Park) and probably a good 25-30 min walk to Greenwich Park from Hither Green. In my mind the distance feels greater because you'd have to climb the hill up to Blackheath, but Blackheath Village itself certainly feels pretty accessible from Hither Green.
I still have family and friends there who enjoy it, but it certainly doesn't have quite the same feel as Blackheath or Greenwich. You do obviously get a lot more for your money there. I really dislike Lewisham shopping centre (although practical) and the huge roundabout gets very congested (this is down the road from Hither Green) and a bit of a transport hub with the DLR and train station etc.

Trinity (both primary and secondary schools) are CofE. They are not really heavily religious and I know plenty of aethists who are very happy with them! I think there is a new secondary school
Hither Green is a great place to live - nice community feel, coffee shops and also great transport links into town (I haven't had any issues with reliability, beyond the usual that you'd get everywhere). There is also a Sainsburys Local and Co-Op for day to day stuff.
Lewisham is not so bad - lots of useful shops (M&S, Boots, H&M, Wilko etc) and a bustling market, plus the DLR. I don't recognise the suggestion of it not being safe - I've never felt that. A lot of the shopping centre is being rebuilt over the next ten years so it will look quite different.

Nice houses but the high street is pretty blah & it's a bit no man's land.

I would figure out how many years away you are from secondary school. I know people who rented in Eltham to get their already academic child into Bexley Grammar. It meant they ‘only’ had to be in the top third vs the top few percent.

Hi @GardenFlowers83 Curious to know if you made the move? There's some lovely properties for sale on Harvard Road at the moment if you're still looking! I'm a HG convert, having moved here 5 years ago and had two DCs. One of them is now at Brindishe Green and loving it. There is a great sense of community here and excellent access to parks, like Mountsfield, Lewisham, Manor House Gardens, Manor Gardens and Ladywell Fields. Lots of fabulous cafés and great links to London. Love it!