Birthplace to arguably the most famous\n(or infamous depending on your point of view!) member of the Tudor Dynasty, Henry\nVIII, leafy, suburban Eltham in south east London\u2019s Royal Borough of Greenwich is\ncertainly having a moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With green outdoor space by the\nbucketload and great transport links, it has become a no brainer for London\u2019s 30-something\nfirst time buyers to spend that hard-earned deposit on a three-bed\nsemi-detached home in Eltham with growing room rather than a bijoux one-bedroom\nflat in trendy but pricey Dulwich or Walthamstow. Indeed, Eltham has been\nidentified by the Evening Standard<\/a> as one of five in the capital where you can still\nbuy a three-bedroom property for less than \u00a3550,000, i.e. the same price as a modest\nflat in most parts of London! <\/p>\n\n\n\n With four train stations serving\ncentral London in around half an hour, Zone 4 Eltham is well connected. Whilst\nthe charming Edwardian and Victorian properties close to Eltham Park and Eltham\nPalace are sought after, it is still possible to pick up a generously sized\npost-war 3-bedroom terraced house for around \u00a3350,000 or a 1 bedroom flat in\nthe Mottingham, Well End or New Eltham areas for around \u00a3200,000. For those\nwith a little more to spend, large, detached properties and townhouses can\nstill be yours for around \u00a3800,000. A bargain by London prices! <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, has Eltham caught your attention?\nRead on to find out more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All four of Eltham\u2019s train stations \u2013 Eltham,\nNew Eltham, Mottingham and Falconwood \u2013 sit within Zone 4 and have services to\nCharing Cross in central London. Collectively, they all serve the major central\nLondon hubs like Lewisham for the DLR connection, London Bridge for the\nNorthern Line and Waterloo East for the Waterloo & City Line in around\n30-40 minutes. The train from Eltham station to Liverpool Street is even\nquicker, arriving in an impressive 20 minutes. You can also be at Victoria\nstation in 45 minutes from Eltham and Falconwood or head in the opposite\ndirection to Dartford in 20 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous bus\nservices<\/a> also serve Eltham\nand surrounding areas. The 286 takes you to Greenwich or Sidcup and the N21\nnight bus terminates in Bexleyheath in one direction and Charing Cross in the\nother, stopping throughout central London. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Eltham\u2019s direct links to the A2\nand A20, you can be on the M25 and on your way out of London in around 10\nminutes; or heading into the centre of the city in 50 minutes. London City\nAirport is 24 minutes\u2019 drive via the A2 and A1020 or just over half an hour on\npublic transport via the 161 bus and DLR at Woolwich Arsenal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you may expect from the influx of\nfamilies, Eltham is home to a number of highly rated primary and secondary\nschools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The vast majority of primary schools in\nEltham are rated as \u201cgood\u201d or above by Ofsted. Eltham CofE Primary School, St Mary\u2019s RC, Deansfield Primary School\nand St Vincent RC are all voted \u201coutstanding\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOutstanding\u201d coeducational secondary\nschools in the Eltham catchment area include the Harris Academy Greenwich (ages\n11 to 18), St Thomas More RC (ages 11 to 16) and the Harris Academy Falconwood\n(ages 11 to 18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also three co-educational\nprivate schools in Eltham for ages three to 11, three to 18 and seven to 18\nrespectively; St Olave\u2019s Prep, Colfe\u2019s and Eltham College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eltham residents have all of London\u2019s best universities<\/a> at their disposal including the nearby University\nof Greenwich<\/a>, which also has a campus<\/a> in Eltham. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the youngest members of the family, Eltham and\nsurrounding areas offer plenty of pre-school classes<\/a> and\nhighly rated nurseries<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eltham high street offers an eclectic\nmix of architectural styles from medieval right through to present day. The\nhigh street has seen significant regeneration in the last 10 years or so, both\naesthetically with a revamp of public areas and more significantly with a new leisure centre<\/a>, six\nscreen cinema<\/a> and a\nrange of new shops and restaurants such as Legends Bar and Grill<\/a>, vegetarian\nand vegan favourite Village Eat Inn<\/a> and\nTurkish Ziyafet<\/a>. You will also see the ubiquitous\nchain staples such as Boots, M&S and Nando\u2019s jostling with a host on quirky\nindependent shops like Wicca Moon<\/a> and upmarket children\u2019s shop BebeBonito<\/a>. Slightly further afield is the\ncharming Tudor Barn Restaurant<\/a> in Well\nHall, a gastro pub in a historic setting. And of course, where the millennials go,\nthe microbreweries follow, and Eltham is now home to three such delights; The Long Pond<\/a>, The Rusty Bucket<\/a> and Berry & Barrel<\/a> with a fourth, Green Goddess<\/a> on the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of\nEltham\u2019s most popular attractions and former home to Henry VIII is historic Eltham Palace<\/a>. Part\nmedieval (the impressive great hall and moat) part art deco thanks to extensive\nrestoration by 1930s leaseholders Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, the Palace is\nnow open to the public and the annual jousting competition each June is\ncertainly worth a visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You are\nalso spoilt for choice by outdoor space in Eltham. A favourite with locals, the\nancient woodlands of Oxleas Wood<\/a> cover an\nimpressive 190 acres and are home to woodpeckers, kestrels and Instagram worthy\nbluebell meadows. Eltham Park<\/a> is home to\nthe Green Chain Walk, a caf\u00e9, children\u2019s play area, outdoor gym and tennis\ncourts amongst other amenities and Avery Hill Park<\/a> offers\nplay areas, sports facilities and Greenwich University\u2019s impressive, tropical\nWinter Gardens. Award-winning Well Hall Pleasaunce<\/a>, home to\nthe Tudor Barn Restaurant, also has a number of inspiring themed gardens, a\nbowling green, play area and interesting water features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For some\nmore high-octane fun of the indoor variety, head to the Eltham Escape Rooms<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The residents of Eltham are a social\nbunch and love a good get together! Parks Fest<\/a> is a regular programme of free events hosted in parks across the\nGreenwich Borough. Eltham Park Festival<\/a> is organised every year by Eltham Police\nfor the local community and involves plenty of family friendly activities and Eltham Music Festival<\/a> is a three day event which takes place\neach July, celebrating live music from around the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bob Hope Theatre<\/a> \u2013 formerly Eltham Little Theatre \u2013 was\nrenamed in honour of one of Eltham\u2019s most famous sons who made its permanent\nhome on Wythfield Road possible in 1980. Today, the theatre continues to\nshowcase local talent in theatre, drama and music including a popular annual pantomime\nevery January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Said to be the oldest in England, the Royal\nBlackheath Golf Club<\/a> has an impressive 18-hole course, welcomes visitors Monday-Friday (with\nthe weekend tee off for members only) and hosts a number of regular\ncompetitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis Eltham<\/a> provides\nmore inspiration on how to spend your free time in Eltham.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst Eltham of the Nineties was known primarily for the shocking murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, today New Eltham, Eltham North and Eltham West are considered some of the safest parts of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although crime does happen in Eltham, much like any other part of London,\nthe gentrification of the area has also led to an influx of families and young\nprofessionals and crime rates are fairly average when compared to the rest of\nthe capital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More information on specific crime and policing\nand the local Safer Neighbourhood Teams for Eltham North<\/a>, Eltham West<\/a> and Eltham South<\/a> can be found on the Police UK website<\/a>. Eltham also falls under the Safer Transport Team\nfor Greenwich<\/a>, which is dedicated to keeping\npeople safe on the local transport network and patrols on buses, at transport\ninterchanges and on London’s roads, tackling any issues such as antisocial\nbehaviour or theft. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTransport links<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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