Living in Peckham

Peckham's spine is Rye Lane, a long, crowded high street of hair salons, butchers, fabric shops, churches and grocers that reflects one of the largest West African communities in Britain, alongside long-established Caribbean families. It is busy from early morning, and it is the thing newcomers either love immediately or take a few weeks to adjust to.

Layered on top of that is the creative Peckham that made the area's recent reputation. Copeland Park and the Bussey Building fill old industrial space with studios, clubs and events; the multi-storey car park off Rye Lane hosts Peckham Levels inside and, in summer, a rooftop bar with one of the best free views of the London skyline. Peckham Library, with its tilted green facade, won the Stirling Prize and is still a working library.

The housing divides clearly. South of the station, the streets around Bellenden Road and towards Peckham Rye are Victorian terraces, many now shared flats or family houses with prices well above what Peckham once cost. North of the high street, large estates — much of them rebuilt since the 1990s — house most of the area's social tenants. Burgess Park to the north-west and Peckham Rye Common and Park to the south, with a formal Japanese-style garden, give good access to green space on both sides.

There is no tube, and it matters less than you might think. Peckham Rye station has Overground trains north through Shoreditch to Dalston and Highbury, and mainline services to Victoria, London Bridge and Blackfriars. The late-night picture is less rosy: buses carry most people home, and the area around Rye Lane feels very different at 2am from how it does at noon.