Living in Kingston

Kingston upon Thames is an ancient riverside market town where Saxon kings were crowned; the Coronation Stone, said to have been used in those ceremonies, still stands outside the Guildhall. Its historic Market Place, with food stalls and old buildings, sits at the heart of a large shopping centre that draws people from across south-west London and Surrey.

The Thames is Kingston's most attractive feature. Riverside restaurants and bars line the waterfront, the Thames Path runs south towards Hampton Court Palace and its parks, and Bushy Park, with its deer and Diana Fountain, lies across the river. Richmond Park's Kingston Gate is a short walk north-east.

Kingston University and its students give the town a younger feel than many outer suburbs, and there are pubs, bars and a busy evening scene around the riverside and town centre. New Malden, a short bus ride east, has one of the largest Korean communities in Europe.

There is no tube. Kingston station has South Western Railway trains to Waterloo via Wimbledon or Richmond, typically taking around thirty to forty minutes, while Surbiton station, just south of the town centre, has faster trains to Waterloo in around twenty minutes. Homes are a mix of period terraces, interwar semis, riverside flats and purpose-built student blocks. Rents are high for outer London but lower than Richmond, and the choice of flats is wide because of the student and commuter demand. Kingston suits families, students and people who want a lively riverside town with extensive shopping and parks, and whose work allows a longer rail commute into central London.