Eltham, SE London - How's this Area to live

[Tiramisuo]

We recently started looking at properties in Eltham and liked a few Edwardian terraced houses around the roads closer to Deansfield Primary School. I'd love to hear any experiences of living there from anyone. Thank you!

I’ve lived close to where you are looking for a few years.

Eltham itself is a bit unreconstructed compared to some other parts of SE London (so will inevitably attract a couple of people on here telling you they could neverrrrrrr and buy a house you can’t afford in Blackheath instead), but increasingly less so. There’s a pub that does craft beer, one with a regular “bring your baby” quiz, and lots of coffee shops - around the area you’re looking in particular, there’s Westmount Cafe, Taste and Chez Maitre by way of cafes. There’s also a bakery (which does really good vegan sausage rolls, so good they’ve ruined the Greggs ones for me) and a deli on Westmount Road. On the other end of the culinary spectrum, I think Well Hall Road may literally have every pizza chain known to man (and a Morley’s).

The parks are really great. I have a small child so currently favour the flatter parks like Eltham Park South or Avery Hill Park, but if you catch Oxleas Woods on the right morning, it’s an incredible view.

It’s not a big rental area - lots of people have lived here for decades, and there’s a real sense of community in parts. The Progress Estate has community events on the greens, for example, and I’m sure other areas have their equivalent. It has the usual petty and occasionally less petty crime, but I’m fairly sure the specific bit you’re looking in has some of the lowest crime stats in Greenwich so, you know, keep comments on places like nextdoor in perspective.

Downsides - transport can sometimes be a pain, particularly since SE messed up the national rail timetables. It’s an easy bus to the Lizzie Line but at peak times you’ll be stuck behind half of Kent on the journey there. Restaurants for an evening meal remain a bit lacking tbh, although Chislehurst and Blackheath aren’t far if you can’t be arsed going more central. Finally, it’ll take a long time for the place to throw off the shadow of the Stephen Lawrence murder (although I am half Middle Eastern and haven’t personally experienced any issues)

I lived in a house share in one of those massive Edwardian houses twenty five years ago and I really liked it. As the pp said you have access to a lot of great stuff. There are also buses to places like Lewisham for cheap shopping and fruit and veg market, etc. it's quite quick into London but I did have cancellation problems even way back then. It's just about possible to do a bus or two if that happens and you are up early enough though. Or a taxi closer in if that pushed for time (I don't think Hither Green is that far and there are two different lines through there, so you can usually always get a train). It has the benefits of access to great places without eye watering prices. I never felt particularly unsafe but I must admit I never went out in Eltham at night, usually elsewhere.

Thanks a lot for your insights. Yeah, we walked past most of the places you've mentioned and quite impressed by Ayre bakery. Could you tell me about the cultural diversity in the area please ?

@KievLoverTwo Thank you, really appreciate. We took buses to commute and it was short ride and quick 10 mins walk thereafter. So I think it was okayish

@WednesburyUnreasonable Thanks a lot for your insights. Yeah, we walked past most of the places you've mentioned and quite impressed by Ayre bakery. Could you tell me about the cultural diversity in the area please ?

We moved to one of the 1930s semis about 2 mins walk from Deansfield just over 2 years ago and love it.
All the things mentioned by PP are great and also we have Oxleas Wood on our doorstep which I adore for weekend rambles. The kids love it.

Schools are good at primary and there's some good options for secondary as well as being in catchment for Bexley grammars if that's your thing (my eldest did 11+ this year).

In terms of diversity I will say it's not the most diverse of areas. Again the shadow of Stephen Lawrence's murder may dissuade people moving here, I don't know. My DC went to a school in central London where literally half the children were in the Halal queue for lunch and there was a great mix.if ethnicity. Here is definitely very white in the local primaries (Deansfield and Gordon in particular). The ethnic mixes at secondary are broader though because the catchment is much bigger.

I love it here though. The kids have so much opportunity to do activities and hang out with friends.

@ConflictedCheetah appreciate your response, it’s a big help.

Eltham is becoming more diverse but doesn't match diversity in other parts of the Borough. However, you're unlikely to encounter any day to day racism. It just has a bit of a boring feel compared to other parts of the Borough which are more chi-chi or urban gritty.

Eltham High St is unexciting but has supermarkets, the library, a cinema and a good leisure centre. As others say, it's easy to get to Blackheath, Greenwich (10 minutes or so by car) and Chislehurst to eat out. There is a bus that takes you down to North Greenwich tube as well as the Eltham overground line so it's fairly quick and easy to get into central London.

St Thomas More is a good secondary school and is diverse (catholic but they do take other faiths too). Grammars are fairly easy to reach from Eltham and the catchments for say, Chislehurst and Sidcup grammar school for example can include Eltham. Most of the primaries are good.

Also lots of green space and easy to get out to the Kent countryside and Sussex/Kent seaside. All in all it's a good family place to live.

@Turmerictolly Thank you.

Yeah the high street is pretty run down and dull but has the basics. And you're only 15 mins drive from Bluewater if you want serious shopping too

I had relations there, so spent a lot of time in my childhood in Eltham. (Big solid Edwardian terraced house in quiet street.) It's changed relatively little, though have been back less often. Happy memories of trips to park and green spaces further from city.

My relative used to say indignantly that the people from the far right who killed SL were not from Eltham itself.

Thank you!

You can find the ethnic makeup here, under migration and diversity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eltham

I remember my Asian friend knew lots of similar families locally, many years ago.

As someone else said, it's not a problem spot - that would be not all that far away in Welling, where the British National Party HQ used to be, and my experience of people in that area (including some of my own family, whom I am no longer in touch with) is that attitude continues to pervade in that area, even though Welling itself is very culturally diverse these days. It's unpleasant and odd.

Thanks for these details. I'll have a look at this

I wouldn't live there.

There's always one 🤣

No context. No reasons why. No information on whether they know anything about the place. Vintage Mumsnet.

OP, Eltham is not a trendy area, largely due to its past and very few people who don't live here would call it aspirational. But if you talk to the locals, including those who moved to Eltham in the last years, everyone I know loves it. It is great for families, fantastic community, especially with primary age kids. Lots of international families moving here now, so it is getting more diverse.

Excellent green spaces as mentioned above.

The roads towards Eltham Park are very pretty, for example Greenvale road has absolutely stunning Edwardian houses. Lots of 1930s houses in the area and many have very decent gardens.

@Notanotherlostone Thank you, appreciate your response

God I love the Edwardian houses on Greenvale. And some of them have the most beautiful stained glass front doors. Would love to live there. Also the other side of Westmount like Beechill Road. DS has a friend who lives in a house there and it's lovely.

@ConflictedCheetah @Notanotherlostone Oh yeah! Also, I came across an Instagram account of an Edwardian house on Westmount Road, and it's so elegantly renovated.

Hi! Had to reply to this post.

we moved here 7 years ago! Started our family here and absolutely love it. We’re moving but literally a couple of roads down with more space, simply because we would like a bigger family (we have 3 daughters).

we live on eltham park gardens and it’s been awesome to be so close to the parks and westmount road with the bakeries and shops, it was hard for us to find a different area that could beat what we already have.

we’re currently listing on right move, I’ll post just in case of interest but yes i would highly recommend the area and great for families !

Eltham park gardens listing

@Dominiqueene Thank you, really appreciate. We've been viewing a couple of houses in the past few weeks and we're starting to get used to this area. I'll DM you.

Hello Everyone,

I'm interested in gathering insights about the Chapel Farm Road area. We've found an appealing house there, but have received mixed reviews regarding safety and general desirability. Considering we have a toddler and this would be a significant investment for us, I'd really appreciate hearing more perspectives. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

@LimeKoala, it's in an area called Mottingham so a little further away from
Eltham High St and there aren't any significant shops close by so it's a bit cut off (although there is now an Aldi a few roads away). It borders a large social housing estate (but isn't on it) of which there is some anti social behaviour (think chicken chaser kids doing wheelies at night). Not sure what the local schools would be like.

To get to Mottingham station, if needed, you have to go over the Sidcup A road at a raised walkway or walk to the Court Rd crossing. Easy to get to nicer areas like Blackheath and Chislehurst although the traffic on the Sidcup Rd can get very congested. Easy to get out to Kent and the seaside too. Have you looked in Chislehurst and Sidcup nearby?

@Turmerictolly
Thank you for sharing your insights. It's helpful to know about the transportation options and proximity to other areas like Blackheath and Chislehurst.

We are particularly interested in being near Colfe’s School, so commuting distance is a key factor for us. While the lack of nearby shops isn't a major concern, safety definitely is, especially since we have a toddler. I understand there's some anti-social behavior noted near the large social housing estate; would you say it affects the overall safety of the area significantly?

Could you also specify which road or part of Mottingham the social housing estate you mentioned is located on? Understanding its exact location could really help us make a more informed decision about the area.

I appreciate any personal experiences or observations from the area to gauge how the living conditions truly are, as I've lived in Greenwich for over a decade and found that official statistics sometimes don't tell the whole story.

Thanks again for your help!