Living around Wood Vale

[Sunny007]

hi there

we are going to be living on Wood Vale Road soon - i don't know much about the area. We have 3 young children (oldest 5 yrs) - and I'd love to know a bit of local knowledge so I know where to go and what to do with them. Where would we go for swimming lessons? Cinema trips? Other activities (children's dance classes etc.)? and for us parents - are there any good gyms close by? Are there any local pre-school playgroups to know about?

any advice much appreciated !!!

love Sunny xxx

[fizzmoll]

- The Horniman museum is an amazing place for kids! Also, they have a lovely farmers market on Saturday mornings. Across the road from the beautiful horniman park is a really nice playground.

- The sydenham hill woods (dulwich woods) is a great spot for a bit of urban forest adventure. You can walk through the woods, up to sydenham hill station, then down college road and through dulwich park home. It's a lovely walk, i do it sometimes with my seven year old. But it is relatively long.

- Forest Hill Pools are fairly close by and they do good swim schools for kids.

- Climb one tree hill for an amazing view of London!

Wood vale is a great location if you have kids. There are lots of cool places to go in your local area.

[Siduhe]

Welcome to the area - if you're looking for info and ideas mainly about children's activities, you'll likely get a much better response from the Family Discussion room. We live off Wood Vale and you're exceptionally well-placed for the Horniman Museum which has loads of good activities. For swimming I would look at Forest Hill pool rather than ED, but again others in the Family Room will have a better idea on suitability for children.

[Bic Basher]

Depending on which part of Wood Vale you live on and the mobile network you use, mobile reception can be patchy. However, it's a nice road and so close to many amenities which your family will enjoy.

As for a gym, the closest to Wood Vale is Energie on London Road, Forest Hill.

http://www.energiefitnessclubs.com/foresthill/

Forest Hill Pools on Dartmouth Road has a gym also. Dulwich Leisure Centre is around a 10 min drive also.

[sanity girl]

Re. playgroups there is the Magic Moments creche on the lordship lane estate (just by the junction with the south circular), open mornings only weekdays apart from Wednesday - lovely caring environment and introduction to preschool/nursery for little ones

[sanity girl]

There is also the excellent Dulwich village preschool on the south circular http://www.dulwichvillagepreschool.co.uk/

[pickle23]

- Horniman is great as already mentioned, there is also a sand pit in the park opposite the museum which is great for young children.

- Cinema - there is a picture house opening in ED but there is Peckham, Brixton and Streatham nearby

- You can walk to Peckham Rye park and Dulwich Park easily (DP has a better playground but both are lovely, if different) and the cemetry accessible on Wood Vale is excellent for scooter practice (albeit respectful scooter practice) and a walk.

- There is the Lido at Brockwell park as well as a great play area and paddling pool.

- o2 reception is terrible on Wood Vale but EE seems pretty good.

- A great softplay is Gamabsdo (in Beckenham but actually quick to get to), but there is also one in Peckham Pulse which is close

- Gyms -- Fusion in ED and FH, Jags in Duwlich, Dulwich Sports Club along the South Circular and ESPH in ED. If you run, there are great and well used runs between all the parks.

Welcome to the road.. its a great place to live.

[Laur]

"and the cemetry accessible on Wood Vale is excellent for scooter practice (albeit respectful scooter practice) and a walk" .

Excellent for scooter practice ??? - no it isn't - Please keep it as a cemetery and use the many nearby parks & gardens for scooter practice, thanks very much

P.S Welcome to the area Sunny007

[Siduhe]

Laur Wrote:

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

> "and the cemetry accessible on Wood Vale is

> excellent for scooter practice (albeit respectful

> scooter practice) and a walk" .

>

>

> Excellent for scooter practice ??? - no it isn't -

> Please keep it as a cemetery and use the many

> nearby parks & gardens for scooter practice,

> thanks very much

Very much second this. I saw an incident last month between a very upset elderly gentleman visiting a grave and a boy who was being taught to ride a skateboard by his dad. Agree that most people are very respectful, but even respectful scooter practice doesn't work (in my view) when you are interrupting someone else's remembrance by using the cemetery instead of a park.

[Laur]

Thanks Siduhe....I speak from experience because similar has happened to me.

Whilst visiting a grave I have seen dogs off their leads running all over the graves & ornaments, a father & his 2 children playing football near the graves and just last week I had a young lad on a bike whizzing past - just as you think you can take a minute of silent thought.

I just don't understand why use a cemetery to do these things when there are so many parks around??

[pickle23]

I didnt mean to offend anyone and can see how I did. We walk through the cemetry to go to the park and the children use scooters to get there. It is neither a park nor a playground and I didnt mean to suggest as much. It is however a lovely place to take a walk.

[Sunny007]

thanks everyone for all the welcoming comments and the advice. Any more other local info most welcome too! Esp. good to hear of a picture house opening in ED too.

One other thing - there's a really big pub (closed down) on the corner where Lordship Lane meets the South Circular. I think it's called (or rather, was called) 'The Grove'. Does anyone know what is going to happen to it, are there plans to reopen it as another pub or restaurant etc.?

thanks again xx

[Siduhe]

See here re the Grove. Am hoping it will reopen as a restaurant/pub too but it depends on the Dulwich Estate.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1308904

[boswell]

You'll also have the cinema a short bus journey down the road once it opens.

[Jah Lush]

And assuming you're carnivores you'll have in Kim Libretto & Daughters, the best butcher in the area right on your doorstep.

[ninbi]

Five minutes and you're in Dulwich Park via Fireman's Alley entrance. Excellent butcher near Forest Hill station. Peckham Rye park easy to reach too.

Once you work out your public transport links you're OK (8 years in and I'm still experimenting!) - that's the biggest downside.

But one of the biggest pluses for us is our kids go to the Dulwich schools and we didn't have to pay Dulwich village prices but we can walk, cycle or scoot the school run - result!

[Dodo1]

only 5 mins bus ride to FH- Overground, excellent butchers and cafes.

[jimbo1964]

10 minute walk over One Tree Hill to the lovely Sodo Pizza at Honor Oak.

[ruffers]

Dodo1 Wrote:

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

> only 5 mins bus ride to FH- Overground, excellent

> butchers and cafes.

The Overground is great. Many of the "how do I get to" threads on here can be addressed using it. I work in Old Street and it gets me to Shoreditch High Street in twenty odd minutes with a quick walk at the other end when I'm not motorbiking it.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

Nobody mentioned the blatant drug deal yet?

[ninbi]

eh eh?? please enlighten us!!

[monica]

Hi welcome to Woodvale, I live just by the Melford Rd roundabout, and its great, I love Woodvale. The bus connections are great, 363 every 10 mins. P13 from Underhill rd. Butchers and convenience store are an absolute saviour. Forest Hill station and town centre are great.

Re the cemetery we were walking through one day, and there was a funeral, and the pastor had decided to park on a grave????? Ever so slightly disgusted, I asked what he was playing at, and he just walked off, ignoring me. I do think a lot of the people using the cemetery, are respectful, however some users are very disrespectful.

[Queequeg]

monica Wrote:

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

> Re the cemetery we were walking through one day,

> and there was a funeral, and the pastor had

> decided to park on a grave????? Ever so slightly

> disgusted, I asked what he was playing at, and he

> just walked off, ignoring me. I do think a lot of

> the people using the cemetery, are respectful,

> however some users are very disrespectful.

I went for a jog through the cemetery last week. A visitor to one of the graves stopped me and said "whst you're doing is disrespectful, outrageous and sacrilegious ... I guess he wasn't a hurdles fan.

(? Emo Philips)