Beckenham or Sydenham or…

[Daisrose]

We’re a couple on our fifties with a dog (no kids) and wanting to move out of west London for more space / garden / greenery for dog walking. Max budget of 800 and wanting three bedrooms. Looking at a modern townhouse off Albemarle road in Beckenham for its proximity to the glorious BPP park and Venner Road, Sydenham. Kind of lost the will after extensive searching but worried about making the wrong decision! Any last minute thoughts would be gratefully received

If it's the house I think it is in Venner Road doesn't it need quite a bit doing to it to bring it up to spec?

Versus the Townhouse off Albermarle Road that again I think I can see which one that is - is ready to go?

So if budget is quite a factor, and you really like Beckenham, BPP, Kelsey Park etc perhaps this is the better house for you.

Neither are on the tube anyway. Though you are near the tram at Albermarle.

Make sure you check the house hasn’t been underpinned and has become distorted. When we were younger we had to pull out of a townhouse backing onto Beckenham Place Park because it had no proper foundations in part, and hidden underpinning. We paid lots to put cameras down drains, we didn’t pull out lightly.

You could also look near the National Trust Hawkwood Estate bordering Bickley and Chislehurst- good dog walking. There is a 5 bed 2 bathroom house in Albyfield that has been reduced to 825 with George Proctor. Trains to Victoria or Blackfriars from Bickley - same train line to Victoria goes through Beckenham Junction and Sydenham Hill.

@LadyLapsang thank you good too about the underpinning

@friendlycat yes I expect you’ve got them. And I’d rather spend my time (and money) on paint colours and the like. Just worried that the style of venner will always be intrinsically more appealing than the style of the townhouse

Same here! Loved the house access to the park, top of the road. We couldn't take the risk.

BPP is lovey but a victim of its own success at the weekends. If you are not walking distance don't think about driving.

There are some beautiful houses in Penge East, I'm not sure where they are hitting budget wise now, we moved to Sundridge park for schools some time ago.

Albemarle Road is very long, one end near beckenham junction station , buses and the trams, which end is the house. Have you looked around the Kelsey Park area, but more expensive but lovely houses.

I know the area pretty well. Venner Road has often been on my running route. It's good for CPP but also good for Cator Park and the Waterlink Way (you can cycle to Greenwich along that). There are some good independent shops and local breweries around on Penge High Street and probably Sydenham too. I wonder if the train noise could be an issue though.

Albemarle is very long and I'm guessing more traffic but very close to BPP, which in my view is the nicest of the local parks. As someone mentioned above, it's a nightmare for parking (the installed parking meters a few years back and it's especially dear if you have an older car). However, you'd be walking distance so probably not an issue. And anyway, it's the same with other parks now - CPP now charges for parking unless you are visiting the sports centre.

I don't think you would miss the tube at all. The transport connections are pretty great as there are several train stations, the overground from Penge West and tram from Beckenham. The train into Victoria from Penge East is very fast from what I remember. It's easy to get out into the Kent and Surrey countryside from both those areas.

I honestly think you could be happy in either - if you like a more trendy, city vibe go with Penge / Penge East / Clockhouse. If you like the burbs more, go with Beckenham.