Woodvale Road

[Polmoche]

Can anyone tell me what transportation is like living on Woodvale Road? Do you feel completely isolated if you don't have a car? Saw a place there this weekend, but it seems so far away from any train station. cheers.

[Fuschia]

Which end of woodvale?

[sazzle]

i looked at a place up there about 18 months a go and at the time there was one bus i think the 63 or 363 to elephant and castle that went halfway up the road then turned on to underhill. I decided it was too isolated for me as i don't have a car and that if i was going to live that far up lordship lane i would rather live in forest hill and be closer to facilities. There are some gorgeous houses on that road and if i wasn't reliant on public transport i would see things differently.

[AllforNun]

move to woodvale ! are you mad , ain't nothing there except for woods and vales ?

[Polmoche]

In the middle bit--so neither that close to the Lordship Lane end or that close to the Forest Hill rd end

[SimonM]

Still quite close to the P13 & 63 routes then

[trinity]

The 363 will go right past your house but is not as frequent as the 63 which ends on Forest Hill Road. Forest Hill Road is only a short walk away and so you could pick up more buses there. Also you are not far from the top end of Lordship Lane and can pick up any buses that run down to the bright lights of the strip. As previously mentioned you are very close to the P13 which also runs down to the fun end of Lordship Lane and Sainsburys.

For trains you are probably 20mins walk away from both Forest Hill Station and Honor Oak Park.

[ruffers]

We're at the top of Melford Road so near as makes no odds on Wood Vale.

Forest Hill station is a ten minute walk. Lordship Lane and all its busses are five minutes away. As someone said there's the 363 along Wood Vale. The other end of Wood Vale which can't be more than a decent ten to fifteen minute walk has Forest Hill Road with its bus stops down to Peckham etc.

How connected do you want to be?!

[Applespider]

Transport from the LL end of Wood Vale, where I am, gives you more options that most places in the area.

10 minutes walk to Forest Hill station

15 minutes brisk walk to West Dulwich station

P4 to Lewisham/Brixton

176/185/197/363

P13 just round the corner.

Another benefit is that aside from the P4 (in term time), you'll pretty much always get a seat on a bus in the mornings (as opposed to just struggling to get on it further along LL)

[Al&Em]

As a WoodValer AppleSpider's list looks pretty comprehensive - for speed into town the 10 min walk to Forest Hill stn (or cheat and get a bus - it'll always overtake you if you walk I find) gets me to the office by Liv St in 35 mins door to door on a good morning.

I'd say a car is handy for the supermarket run depending on how much you're buying, but that's the same everywhere - you'll have no problem getting yourself to ED or elsewhere without one.

[James]

Transport is a bit rubbish basically. So ultimately it depends whether you're willing to sacrifice convenience for a leafier, quieter area and (probably) more space. I hear there are some lovely big old places up there - much more spacious than your average East Dulwich Victorian terrace conversion.

[Jah Lush]

What Ruffers said. I'm up that end of Melford Road too on the cusp of Wood Vale. I don't drive and don't have a problem with public transport, which I use all the time. Also, it's nice and quiet up that end.

[Applespider]

So those of us who live in/near Wood Vale don't have any problems and find the transport options reasonably plentiful.

Those who don't live there or have only wandered by to look at the pretty houses, think that it's isolated. ;-)

[James]

Probably because people always have a tendency to 'big up' the area where they live.

[Keef]

I'm moving that way soon. Transport was my only concern, but tried out routes to stations and bus stops and It's not bad. Benefits outweigh the extra few minutes walk by far! And have you seen the views!

[Applespider]

James Wrote:

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> Probably because people always have a tendency to

> 'big up' the area where they live.

And here was me thinking it was people who have a tendency to think themselves experts on a subject without actually knowing much about it. ;-)

I'll be the first to admit that pubs/shops wise, Wood Vale isn't as good as living down one of the streets off LL but transport-wise in terms of getting to work each day, I don't think it's a poor relation.

[Cassius]

James Wrote:

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> Probably because people always have a tendency to

> 'big up' the area where they live.

or maybe they choose to live somewhere they like.

[James]

I didn't know that you knew where I and my friends live Applespider! Wonders will never cease...

And do you need a degree to know that the transport there is a bit rubbish compared to further in to East Dulwich?

If you read my post again you will see that I gave a balanced view... face it the transport is not good there. You're further out and further from stations. Payback is that it's leafy, pretty and the houses are bigger. In fact there are some lovely places there.

Still, it's not fair on people seeking balanced advice to distort the truth in order to big up your own area (trying to make yourself feel better?)

[Jah Lush]

I'm not trying to big up the place James. It's just a genuinely quieter and pleasant stretch of road than being just off Lordship Lane. OK, you can bus it to the station or walk. It's not that far and the little bit of exercise never did anyone any harm. I know it's the only exercise I get.

[Applespider]

James, wasn't meant to be personal but since you said you'd only heard that there were some bigger places up there, it did sound like you weren't particularly familiar with the area yourself. I'm not sure whether you need a degree to know anything about transport - but I have one and I'll continue to disagree with you.

Sure, it's 5 minutes further along from the Plough or 10 minutes along from Goose Green but aside from the 37 if I want to go to Putney, I'm not entirely sure what I'm missing out on where I am. I at least have the option of the P4 to get to/from Brixton and the wonders of the Victoria line which gets me to a point where I can pick up cross-London routes (e.g. to Putney too). The 363/63 gives me a direct bus route to Kings Cross.

I'd rather spend 10 minutes on a bus with a seat in the mornings than standing on LL watching buses go past because they're full. And, let's face it, most mornings the bus situation on the main part of LL isn't pretty. On the majority of mornings, the 185/176 that I'm on at 8ish will ignore several stops on LL or only allow very limited passengers on.

Forest Hill has as good links as East Dulwich station - and West Dulwich offers a direct route to Victoria too. It's not any further to walk down the hill from Wood Vale to Forest Hill as it would be from Franklins to East Dulwich station. In the evenings, I can be home in less than 30 minutes from the West End - that's not 'rubbish' in my experience.

I'm truly not trying to 'big-up' the area as you're assuming. I've already freely admitted that pubs/shops-wise it's a poor relation, but on transport, it's not as rubbish as you're suggesting.

[ruffers]

James Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If you read my post again you will see that I gave

> a balanced view... face it the transport is not

> good there. You're further out and further from

> stations. Payback is that it's leafy, pretty and

> the houses are bigger. In fact there are some

> lovely places there.

>

> Still, it's not fair on people seeking balanced

> advice to distort the truth in order to big up

> your own area (trying to make yourself feel

> better?)

As a resident of the area I can confirm that all the views above from residents are correct and balanced.

And "You're ... further from stations."? Comedy gold. May I suggest you're further from some, and closer to others? Balanced advice there.

;-) (A little bit)

edited for clarification and accuracy and that..

[Vagueman]

Hello there. As a fellow Woodvalien (Lordship Lane end) I'd just like to agree with Applespider's comments. If anything we have more travel options up this neck of the woods as we have the nippy (yet inconsistent) p4 to Brixton to add to the 363/63/185/176/197. Forest Hill Station is a short walk away and also has a far more frequent service than East Dulwich and will soon (well in a couple of years) have the East London Line. I think, to be honest, transportation into central london can at times be pretty frustrating from anywhere in the ED area - in Wood Vale we can just boast of a greater variety of methods to frustrate you. As a lazy biker my quickest method of transport to the west end is a pleasant cycle through Dulwich park to Brixton and then hopping on the Victoria Line.

As the esteemed Mr.Lush mentions its quieter and greener in these parts - Sydenham woods/Horniman/ Dulwich Park all next door, but you don't have the pubs (until someone turns the Harvester back into a proper pub) and shops. Its a pleasant walk down the hill for dinner though and a hop on the bus back up the hill. And while Wood vale itself doesn't have amazing views, walk round the corner and the whole of London unfolds before you.

We also seem to be a friendly bunch up here too - I've found more passers by say hello/good morning than any other place I've lived in london...

[Jah Lush]

And there you have it in a nutshell. Excellent first post Vagueman. Welcome aboard.

[Polmoche]

Thanks everyone for the comments--I'm sold.

[Sue]

Enjoy :)