General
Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill are bordered by Dulwich, Sydenham and Penge with fabulous views of London and Kent at every turn. Once the Great North Wood, this area has its fair share of open land to this day. Crystal Palace Park, at 200 acres, is the largest surviving example! Full of activities for young and old it has a lot to offer. Two transmitters dominate the skyline and can be seen from everywhere you look. The first went up in 1955, followed by the second the following year. This still remains the capital’s highest structure at 890 feet. Famous inhabitants over the years include Emile Zola, Pisarro, John Logie Baird, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ken Russell with Charlie Drake and Kenny Dalgliesh still living locally today. The area has an ever-growing selection of bars and restaurants, mainly in ‘The Triangle' which includes Westow Hill and Westow Street, and is becoming famous for the wide range of cuisine on offer. Gipsy Hill has a good selection of restaurants too at Paxton Green. The train stations at Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill operate services direct to Victoria and London Bridge, and bus routes direct to Oxford Circus or out to Kent. The East London line tube extension is due to come to the area in the future, so improving the transport links even more. Predominantly Victorian, the area offers a wide range of properties from Georgian right through to modern developments. With the prices still very affordable, SE19 is attracting a young, professional crowd, as well as families, keen to take advantage of all that this very popular postcode has to offer.

Property
Sometimes overlooked but well-placed with good transport links to Victoria, London Bridge and Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill have a varied range of properties and are popular with families and young professionals alike. Roads such as Dulwich Wood Avenue and Gipsy Hill itself comprise amazing detached Victorian villas, large 6/7 bedroom semi-detached Victorian and smaller modern houses. In and around the Farquhar Road area are many modern private developments built in the late 1960s/early 1970s. These are part of the Dulwich Estate (which stretches right up to Crystal Palace) and so benefit from being well-maintained and regulated, are generally set in attractive communal gardens and include Bell Meadow, Tylney Avenue, Giles Coppice and Oakfield Gardens. The houses are mainly three- to four- bedroom townhouses popular with young families and those downsizing from Dulwich. There are also seven or eight private blocks of flats (Lowood Court, Glenhurst Court, Knoll Court) which are increasingly popular with young professionals embracing this period of architecture and looking for large flats with good sized rooms. Many of these blocks have far reaching views of the London skyline and are again set in mature communal grounds. In roads such as Camden Hill Road and Woodland Road can be found traditional London properties, flat fronted three- to four-storey townhouses with steps up to the front doors. Bursting with character, these roads are well placed for Gipsy Hill Station and other local amenities. Alexandra Drive, just behind the Gipsy Hill Station, is made up of large Victorian properties mainly split into flats. Just above is Becondale Road, a pretty square surrounded by Victorian semi detached houses peacefully tucked away off Gipsy Hill. Further up into Crystal Palace are roads such as Harold, Bedwardine and Rockmount, which are filled with attractive period properties. Harold Road is particularly impressive with large detached mansions overlooking parkland.

Shops
Crystal Palace is now home to its very own J. Sainsbury on Westow Hill on the site of the former Safeway store. In addition, there is a wide range of fascinating shops ranging from bookshops to galleries. Haynes Lane Market, just off Westow Street, is open at weekends from 11am to 6pm on Saturdays and until 5pm on Sundays. It sells vintage jewellery, umbrellas, artworks, books, shoes, records and even offers Thai and Indian head massages. A little gem of a shop on Haynes Lane too is Doghouse, a skateshop that also sells guitars, amps and keyboards. They make and repair guitars too. The Triangle, where most of the shops are situated, includes Westow Street, Westow Hill and Church Road. The shops have not been ruined by the big chains and offer the unique style of the small business. Merlin’s Shoe Shop on Westow Street is a prime example of a family run shop offering a fantastic, personal service for adults and children, with a huge range of shoes available. The Bookseller Crow on the Hill is a fabulous bookshop, famous for its love of American literature, with an informative and varied selection of books on offer. For more information look at www.crowonthehill.tbphost.co.uk. The Fireplace Shop is another small family business set up in 1976. They supply quality repro surrounds, baskets and inserts and made to measure fires. They also restore old fires and supply gas hearths and slips in most natural materials. The Secret Garden is in Coxwell Road, just off Westow Street next door to the car park for the Sainsbury’s store. Set on a hill, this garden centre is a beauty spot in itself! A huge variety of trees, shrubs and plants on offer all year round. Crystal Palace Aquatic Centre is an amazing shop. It stocks tropical fish and all the equipment that goes with it, as well as snakes, reptiles, terrapins and the like. A child’s paradise! There also is a Blockbuster, a newsagent, a hardware store, the Phoenix Community Centre, a locksmiths, an art gallery, a graphic design shop, a post office and a selection of hairdressers and boutiques! An addition to the street is Glitter and Twisted. They used to have a stall on the market, but have now opened a shop which is full of antiques and modern collectables, ceramics and glass, furniture and much more! For some fine treatments and pampering there is Mother Earth Health and Beauty Salon, a feature since 1993 and having been voted 7th best salon in the UK by readers of Good Housekeeping magazine. Northwood Clinic (for feet and sports injuries) and CP Osteopathic Practise are there to cover any health issues you may have! In Westow Hill are yet more shops. Warrior CD Store holds a wide range of stock, covering most musical tastes. Not only does it sell new stock, but offers exchanges on old CDs too. Little Yellow Bird and Birdcage Boutiques is a stylish fashion shop offering an ecletic range of women's fashionwear and accessories and is jampacked with gifts, jewellery, furniture and chandeliers too. Next door is Little Yellow Bird, jampacked with gifts, jewellery, furniture and chandeliers. South of the River is another interesting shop selling fab clothes and jewellery. You have a good selection of shops to cover your every need - newsagents, dry cleaners, Budgens, Iceland and Woolworths, Planta Health Food Shop, the Public Library, a photo shop, off-licences, Crystal Palace Dental Practise, a shoe repairers, chemists, an optician, a deli and a selection of banks!! If you are looking for antiques or modern furniture, the Antiques Warehouse in Jaspar Road, just off Westow Hill, is four floors packed with a huge variety of furniture. Edward James Flowers, on Crystal Palace Parade, have taken over from Sells which was on the site for the last 100 years. With a huge range of flowers on offer, no order is too big or small.

Restaurants & Bars
There are plenty of great restaurants and takeaways to choose from and many cuisines on offer in SE19. Domali is a cosy homely café/bar/restaurant with a rambling garden complete with outdoor heater at the back. Serving veggie specials, fish dishes, breakfast and snacks in an unforced retro cool atmosphere. Numidie is a French bistro with an English dining room offering Mediterranean food with true flair. Tamnag Thai is an elaborately decorated Thai restaurant. Its interior alone is a reason to visit, but the food is also excellent. Lunchtime menus are very reasonable and still uphold the fantastic food many have grown to love. One of the best loved restaurants in Crystal Palace is Joanna’s. Critically acclaimed, the freshly cooked food and organic dishes along with flawless service and comfortable atmosphere keep Joanna’s as an old favourite with many. Lorenzos is an authentic Italian restaurant established in 1985, with a great reputation due to its extensive menu and traditional specialties. With more than 30 main course choices and lunch at only £3.50 through the week, it’s hard to find better value for money anywhere else. If you want a croissant and a coffee any time of the day Café Saint Germain is the place. Incredibly appealing through all seasons due to its al fresco seating in the summer and cosy interior for colder weather. A new addition to the triangle is the Blackbird Bakery. With a shop, already popular, in Herne Hill, it has now opened another here, much to the delight of the residents. Palace Spice is a small inconspicuous-looking restaurant that happens to serve the best Indian food for miles. It often goes unnoticed, but its talented chef cooks all manner of traditional Indian cuisine and has been long underrated. A fantastic place to go any night of the week for anything from a romantic evening to a family meal. An addition to the huge line-up of restaurants on offer is Edo, a Japanese restaurant, the only one in the area, serving excellent food, including very light tempura and extremely fresh sushi. The service is helpful, but not over bearing, whilst the food is fresh and incredibly delicious. Overall it offers fantastic food at reasonable prices. A few high street names have crept in more recently - Caffe Nero and Pizza Express being good examples. There are many more exciting and unique restaurants within the Triangle too though, including Indian, Thai, Portuguese, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Bangladeshi and Caribbean/Creole! Gipsy Hill has some very nice restaurants in its midst too. Mangosteen, a South East Asian restaurant which is a bright and diminutive place and almost café-like in its simplicity. The food is delicious and fresh and the service is superb. With its tiled floors, open bar, wall paintings and mirrored wall, Still Luigis is a taste of the Mediterranean in Gipsy Hill. A great choice on the menu of true Italian fare, with a great wine list to boot. A new addition is The Indian Dining Club, the latest venture from the team behind the hugely successful Kennington Tandoori, one of London's most popular and highly acclaimed Indian restaurants.  They have a spacious dining room, a well-stocked bar and a wonderful Club Room with private bar for those special occasions.  They also offer a home delivery service and you can order your takeaway online too. The Red Rose Indian Brasserie serves the usual and the unusual, finished off with oranges, hot towels and a small port, all for very reasonable prices. Bars are popping up all over the place in the area. The Blue Bottle, recently re-furbished, is a pub that offers table football, comfortable armchairs and sofas, open fires and a big outside area creating a chilled out bar vibe. Numidie has a groovy basement bar with a great atmosphere and great live music. The Westow House (used to be The Blue Bottle) has recently been reworked into a curious clash of styles- and reflects a love of quirky objects and free-thinking. Live music, acoustic nights, free wi-fi, DJs from Thursday-Sunday, live sports and a myriad of other events. The place also had Pieminister pies on top of a lovely food service - it is one of London's best kept secrets - and perfect for a quiet Sunday recovery session - before or after a brisk walk in the Park. The Black Sheep Bar has a good menu and great bar staff who serve a varied range of cocktails. The Alma is an unpretentious pub with a pool table and a great jukebox. It is famous for its music with great live Blues on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden! Jack Beard’s at the Palace has a lively atmosphere and cheap drinks. Postal Order is a Wetherspoons pub with pleasant wood panelling, a choice of tables and chairs or sofas and the usual well priced range of beers and pub food. The White Hart is good for an excellent night with a nice mix of different ages. The bar staff are great and the food worth a try. The refurbished Mansion (used to be the Paxton) at Gipsy Hill is a nice pub with a cosy atmosphere and pretty, smart décor and is well worth a visit. The Gipsy Tavern is a spacious high-ceilinged place with sofas and table football and a friendly atmosphere.

Schools
As with all parts of London, catchment areas cross boundaries and, included in this list, therefore, are schools where the catchment areas include Gipsy Hill and Crystal Palace. In addition as children from the area use the nearby Dulwich Schools, these have also been included.

State Primaries: Paxton Primary School, St Joseph's RC Junior School, Rockmount Primary School, Downsview Primary and Nursery School, All Saints CofE Junior School. State Secondaries: Harris City Technology College, St Joseph's College, Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School, Westwood Language College for Girls.

Fee-paying schools in the proximity include: Virgo Fidelis Prep. School (nursery to 11 years), Rosemead Preparatory (nursery – formerly Noah’s Arc 3 to 11 years), Streatham Hill and Clapham Girls School (nursery to 18 years), Dulwich College (separate but affiliated kindergarden - DUCKS - and junior schools) (nursery to 18 years), Dulwich College Prep School (nursery to 13 years), Alleyns (4 to 18 years), James Allen Prep School (mixed nursery to 7 years, girls only 8 to 11 years), James Allen Girls School (11 to 18 years) and Sydenham High School (4 to 18 years).

For details of school results (SATS, GCSE & A level) together with addresses and map visit schools in Croydon or schools in Southwark or schools in Lambeth
A list of all schools in close by Dulwich can be found on www.dulwich.co.uk/schools.html

Other
Crystal Palace is famous for a number of things – its football team, based at Selhurst Park, the National Sports Centre and the park which once housed the Crystal Palace building where the first ever TV broadcast was transmitted. John Logie Baird’s camera, studio and transmitter were located here. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was set up in Hyde Park and Joseph Paxton’s “Crystal Palace” was built to house the large scale exhibition of industrial design. When completed the site covered nine acres! In 1854 this building was then moved to the park at what was to become known as Crystal Palace due to this very structure. More than 200,000 people visited it on on 1st May when it was opened by Queen Victoria. It was the event of its time. Everything was destroyed in a fire on 30 November 1936. The vast empty terraces on the western edge of the park are all that is left of the great building including the Terrace Arches and the Sphinx. Various schemes have been suggested for the site, but thus far nothing has been decided and it is very much felt locally that it would have to be within the parameters of the local Conservation Area. The park today is 200 acres and has a lot to offer and has recently undergone extensive rebuilding and landscaping work totalling £4 million.

The eastern end of the park has housed the National Sports Centre since 1964. Not the prettiest of buildings, but very much at the forefront of the capital’s sporting facilities. There is the arena, astroturf pitches, a boxing hall, an indoor track, a dance studio, grass pitches and climbing walls, outdoor courts, training halls, swimming pools and the stadium itself, which seats 16,000 spectators and has hosted many national and international major sporting events over the years. The South London Harriers are also based here. The track they use was formerly occupied by the football stadium which was built in 1895 and which staged early FA cup finals. The stadium underwent a £1.5 million upgrade in 2004. Every sport you can imagine is practised here, from fencing and judo to American football and short tennis, to name but a few. The London Towers also play here. They are London’s only professional basketball team. On a slightly different note, the Crystal Palace Bowl hosts musical events and a firework display through the summer. Set in a beautiful location within the park, the stage is set back from a lily covered pond and looks spectacular when lit. Still very popular with the younger visitors are the famous brick and iron stucco-covered dinosaurs situated round the lake in the southern corner of the park – a remnant from Joseph Paxton in 1851 - looking slightly strange now, due to modern archaeological discoveries. The circular Tea Maze is London’s largest maze and one of the biggest in the country occupying 2000 square yards. It is open all year round and admission is free. The play area includes swings roundabouts and slides with the café nearby providing much needed refreshments after all the activities on offer here! There are always extra activities going on at the park too. This Christmas there was an outdoor ice rink open, accompanied by a funfair. There is a Farmers Market open between 10:00 – 3:00 on most Sundays. There is also a small museum here that preserves the memory of this great park and important history. Housed at the top corner of the park, you can see some 3D views of the interior of the “Palace” which make you realize what an amazing structure it was. They also do guided tours of the park. Other green areas in the vicinity are Upper Norwood Recreation Ground, occupying 19 acres, now offering football pitches, tennis courts and a skate ramp. Westow Park is next door. It boasts some beautiful chestnut trees and has a children’s playground within the realms of its 6 acres. The Crystal Palace Band are still going strong after 100 years. It is one of the few traditional brass bands remaining in London and has performed at numerous venues and contests over the years.

Transport
Bus services are very good for Crystal Palace including routes to Central London (No.3 including via Gipsy Hill plus nightbus service), Plumstead (No.122), Morden ((No.157), Blackheath (No.202), Bromley (No.227), Balham (No.249), Clapham Common Old Town (No.322 including via Gipsy Hill), Orpington (No.358), Elephant and Castle (No.363), Wallington (No.410), Clapham Common Station (No.417 plus nightbus service), Brixton (No.432), West Croydon (No.450). There are also smaller routes that only operate on certain days/times of the week. Detailed information on buses (with map) can be found at www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/spiders. Train services from Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill go from Beckenham Junction to London Bridge, London Victoria to London Bridge and Smitham to London Bridge all offering good rush hour services. Detailed information on train links to Crystal Palace and to Gipsy Hill can be found at www.infotransport.co.uk/trains/select.