Living in Herne Hill

Herne Hill sits on the Lambeth–Southwark border, where Brixton starts to give way to Dulwich, and it has the feel of a small town inside Zone 2. The centre is a short parade of shops, cafés and pubs around the railway bridge, with a Sunday market on Railton Road that draws people from well beyond the area.

Brockwell Park is the reason most people choose it. The park is large, hilly and well used, with views towards the City from the top, walled gardens, a miniature railway, and Brockwell Lido, a 1930s open-air pool that is busy from early spring. The Herne Hill Velodrome, one of the oldest cycle tracks in the world and a venue at the 1948 Olympics, is just to the south-east. Dulwich Park and the woods beyond are close.

The housing is mainly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many still whole houses rather than conversions, which is why the area leans towards couples and families and why the rental market is relatively small. Flats that do come up tend to be in converted houses or small purpose-built blocks.

There is no tube. Herne Hill station has Southeastern trains to Victoria and Thameslink services through Blackfriars and the City, both quick but less frequent than a tube line, especially in the evening. Many residents walk or cycle fifteen minutes to Brixton for the Victoria line. Nightlife is limited to pubs and a few bars, which suits most of the people who live here: Brixton's late nights are close enough to reach and far enough to avoid.