benndant

The Sydenham revival may happen it may not. Pubs like the Dolphin can act as a catalist for regeneration as venues like the EDT did for ED (I knew the area 10 years ago). Whether it will come to much we shall see but it would be nice if it improved and it already is, and the pace seems to be quickening (have listed in above post). And the high street might look rubbish but it is very useful. Also has one of the best independent book shops in south London, a great health food shop (where you can get Ecover products not stocked in Somerfield) a Turkish deli. An excellent Nepalese restaurant. And all the usual stuff you would expect - a bakers, a proper green grocers (and lots of other shops selling fresh fruit and veg), three or four banks or building societies, a large post office, a pet shop, school uniform shop and a good DIY shop, two optitians and lots more. Everyone slags off the pound shops but even they are good for bits and bobs, they are just hardware shops really. Just google Sydenham if you want to find out more or check out the Sydenham Society website.

I have lived in Honor Oak and Forest Hill and moved to Sydenham last year and definately prefer this area. It is greener and feels like a more stable community, one reason I can think of for this is that there seem to be a lot of family homes here and less flats. From what I can gather the area has been mainly 'middle class' for some time it's just that the high street has not reflected this. You don't have to wander far to find lots of leafy roads with lovely houses (the Thorpe estate is one example - a conservation area just to the north of Sydenham road - part of a larger conservation area that includes most of the high street now). But things are really looking up for the area. The Dolphin underwent a major facelift and reopened last December. It is now managed by the people who run the Dartmouth Arms in Forest Hill. It's a family- friendly gastro pub with fantastic garden. The Blue Mountain cafe is opening another branch at the top of the high street. And there is a lot more in the pipeline. We also have fantastic train links to central London. Trains run every five or ten minutes most of the day. There, the advert finishes!