CROYDON

AWESOME TOWN, 15 MINUTES FROM CENTRAL LONDON, WHICH IS EVERY INCH A GREAT CITY IN ITS OWN RIGHT. CROYDON HAS A GREAT ART SCENE WITH GREAT PLACES LIKE THE FAIRFIELD HALLS, WHERE THE BEATLES ONCE PLAYED; AND THE CROYDON CLOCK TOWER CENTRE, WHICH FAMOUSLY HOSTED AN EXHIBITION OF PICASSO PAINTINGS.

IN ADDITION, CROYDON'S ALREADY EXCELLENT SHOPPING FACILITIES ARE ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT BETTER STILL WITH A £1 BILLION WESTFIELD CENTRE.

Croydon is a town, but will soon be reclassified as a City - if there is any justice!!

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Worcester Park

Fabulous area of outer London mainly located in the London Borough of Sutton, although part of it is in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames. It's in Travelcard zone 4 and about 8 miles from central London. There's a good range of restaurants including sushi in the main shopping street, along with coffee houses and a branch of ubercool Waitrose.

Our American friends will feel very much at home here, as there is an awesome 1,000 home executive estate of NEW ENGLAND style houses. It's won many awards for its architecture and beautiful landscaping.

All in all Worcester Park is pretty cool.

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Mitcham

Mitcham is a - perhaps unexpectedly - rather picturesque small town located within Greater London. It's got some genuinely pretty period architecture - for example see photos below of the town's churches and "White House" (no not that one). The area has perhaps been a tad looked down on in the past (often by people who have never been there). But it's smartening up, and its innate visual appeal - especially in its older parts - makes it a perfectly pleasant, green little area to live in or visit. And local borough council plans for town centre improvements will provide a further spur towards it realising its full potential before long.

Question one: What sort of people would Mitcham appeal to?
-- Those who appreciate pretty buildings and plenty of green open spaces (such as Mitcham Common and Mitcham Fair Green).

Question two:Where is it precisely?
-- It's a mile or two further out of central London than Wimbledon, just within the Surrey side of the London/Surrey border. But officially it IS in London, as it's in a London borough (Merton). It is exactly eight miles from Charing Cross (the official central point of London).

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Wallington

Attractive middle class town within the London Borough of Sutton with the great distinction of being the site of three of the best Grammar schools in the entire country.

Wallington is the hotspot of Britain for secondary education.

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Carshalton

Drop-dead gorgeous village that could be a hundred miles from central London, but is actually under ten miles away in the London Borough of Sutton.

Why all this incredible enthusiasm, I hear you say?

For a start, the setting - two lovely ponds at its heart with an Italianate bridge, surrounded by trees such as weeping willows, fine period buildings including a museum and a Grade II listed church. Next a very pretty high street popular with local hipsters for its stylish independent coffee houses, trendy art and gift shops and its small theatre, the Charles Cryer Theatre.

I could go on about its museum, its ecology centre, its conservation areas, the fact that it's home to one of CAMRA's favourite pubs in the whole of Britain and that it's only 25 minutes by Southern Rail from London Victoria train station; but I suggest you just visit it for yourself and have a lovely day out.

(one year ago)
- Ruby:"Let's go for a day out, maybe Richmond on Thames."

- Leonora:"No, sure it's fab there, but we've been too often."

- Ruby:"How about we go to Carshalton then; I hear it's the prettiest village in England."

- Leonora:(struck by the brilliance of this suggestion) "Best idea you've ever had, Ruby; I've just read that it's totally cool there. Let's leave immediately!"

(now)
Ruby and Leonora now share a flat in Carshalton.

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Carshalton

Pleasant area of outer London, whose charming central village has been attracting hordes of young professionals over the last five years.

Hipsters are piling into Carshalton. Frankly who can blame them?

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Carshalton

Beautiful village ten miles from London with ponds, parks, a theatre and an ecology centre.

Lets go to Carshalton on Sunday for a lovely day out!

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