Swanley...? The good the bad and the ugly...

[The_Edge]

Fello (neighbouring) PH'ers,

Wondered if anyone might be able to offer a straight and honest view of the Swanley area...?

Currently in Surrey, and considering moving over

Swanley looks reasonable for our requirements; primarily getting into London, and being able to afford something reasonable.

Considering Caterham and Sevenoaks too.

Welcome any local knowledge!

Cheers,

Edge

[Andyuk911]

Try Sevenoaks, not Swanley unless you like Asda ...

[The_Edge]

Andyuk911 said:

Try Sevenoaks, not Swanley unless you like Asda ...

... meaning...? There's not much there besides?

[Black Sport 160]

I lived there for around 10 years as a teenager....in one of the few 'nice-ish' bits.....

There is a pretty rough council estate around the Hart Dyke / Lime Road area and its environs. Some half decent roads going towards Birchwood Corner, but the nasty bits are never that far away.

Reasonable priced housing considering you're inside the M25.

The pubs in Swanley are awful. You need to travel to the nearby villages to find decent pubs, such as Farningham or Horton Kirby.

Trains go to Victoria (30 mins) or Blackfriars (45 mins), the station is just outside Zone 6.

Shopping? A huge Asda superstore, and....not a lot else.

Pleasant countryside just outside Swanley itself for mountain biking, etc.

[The_Edge]

Very useful! Thanks...!

Probably worth looking at the smaller places (with a station) just outside then... happy to be a bit further out in order to be in a nice(r) area....

[Black Sport 160]

The_Edge said:

Probably worth looking at the smaller places (with a station) just outside then... happy to be a bit further out in order to be in a nice(r) area....

In that case try Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford. All are nice villages with train services to Elephant & Castle / Blackfriars. Very pleasant countryside of the North Downs right on the doorstep. Some decent pubs to be found around there

Sevenoaks is a nice town in the main with good rail services.

Going the other way a little further towards London, Sidcup and in particular, Bexley village are both worth looking at. Cheaper rail journey into town (Charing Cross / Cannon Street). Good road links of the A20 and A2.

[scotal]

Black Sport 160 said:

Going the other way a little further towards London, Sidcup and in particular, Bexley village are both worth looking at. Cheaper rail journey into town (Charing Cross / Cannon Street). Good road links of the A20 and A2.

I live in Sidcup. I would not recommend you move there.
It's right at the edge of the Borough of Bexley, and its "reasonably" affluent. Other parts of Bexley aren't, and the council pushes all its money that way. Sidcup is forgotten (form my house its 200yards to the borough of Bromely and 200 yards to the borough of Greenwich, Sidcup is pretty much ignored by the council, and as such is becoming run down. There are 3 pubs in the town centre. One is a wetherspoons, one is similar to a wetherspoons, one is a Harvester..... I never drink in Sidcup.

Bexley should be nicer, but it is effectively a mini roundabout with 3 busy roads offit, and although there are reasonable pubs, some of the locals like a fight.

Budget dependent, and knowing what I now know about Sidcup and its surroundings, I would look towards Sevenoaks long before I looked at south east london.


Swanley Village is I believe a totally different place from Swanley. (Avoid Swanley like the plague)
It is meant to be much nicer.
I would still look out rather than in though.

[st kev]

I live by brands hatch about 2 mins from swanley and its lovely where i am now but if i had the choice between swanley or surrey it would be surrey, i did use to live in sutton, surrey it was nice and a lot better than swanley i think any way.There are some really nice villages just at side of swanley that are nice

[Red Devil]

The_Edge said:

Fello (neighbouring) PH'ers,

Wondered if anyone might be able to offer a straight and honest view of the Swanley area...?

Currently in Surrey, and considering moving over

Swanley looks reasonable for our requirements; primarily getting into London, and being able to afford something reasonable.

Considering Caterham and Sevenoaks too.

Welcome any local knowledge!

Cheers,

Edge

Er, last time I looked Caterham was in Surrey......
You don't mention where in the county you are at the moment.
What criteria are most important? Transport links? Schools? Shops?
Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford will be expensive compared to Swanley. Especially Shoreham.
Swanley has much better train services (junction for two routes) but I defintely wouldn't want to live there.
Sevenoaks is a bit further out (beyond the M25) but ticks most boxes imo.
Train wise the only problem is if your commute needs to take you to Victoria because there is no direct service.
You would have to take a Capital Connect service and change at Swanley or Bromley South.
The main line South Eastern service goes to Charing Cross then a walk to Embankment for the District/Circle line

[Brew]

scotal said:

Black Sport 160 said:

Swanley Village is I believe a totally different place from Swanley. (Avoid Swanley like the plague)
It is meant to be much nicer.
I would still look out rather than in though.

You are not wrong there my friend - I live in Swanley Village which is a lovely place and only tarnished by the first word of it's name!!! I would also look at the Hextable, Wilmington or as already mentioned Bexley Village.

[Black Sport 160]

Brew said:

You are not wrong there my friend - I live in Swanley Village which is a lovely place and only tarnished by the first word of it's name!!! I would also look at the Hextable, Wilmington or as already mentioned Bexley Village.

Yep, all fairly decent places to live in by and large.

The only downside is Swanley Village, Hextable and Wilmington are not within walking distance to a railway station for access to London.

Edited by Black Sport 160 on Wednesday 13th January 21:09

[maccas99]

You will either need to be minted or have a massive mortgage to live in a decent part of Sevenoaks...

[Inverness]

Red Devil said:

The_Edge said:

Fello (neighbouring) PH'ers,

Wondered if anyone might be able to offer a straight and honest view of the Swanley area...?

Currently in Surrey, and considering moving over

Swanley looks reasonable for our requirements; primarily getting into London, and being able to afford something reasonable.

Considering Caterham and Sevenoaks too.

Welcome any local knowledge!

Cheers,

Edge

Er, last time I looked Caterham was in Surrey......
You don't mention where in the county you are at the moment.
What criteria are most important? Transport links? Schools? Shops?
Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford will be expensive compared to Swanley. Especially Shoreham.
Swanley has much better train services (junction for two routes) but I defintely wouldn't want to live there.
Sevenoaks is a bit further out (beyond the M25) but ticks most boxes imo.
Train wise the only problem is if your commute needs to take you to Victoria because there is no direct service.
You would have to take a Capital Connect service and change at Swanley or Bromley South.
The main line South Eastern service goes to Charing Cross then a walk to Embankment for the District/Circle line

Red Devil, IIRC Otford is the more expensive out of Eynsford, Shoreham and Otford due to the fact that Otford station has a better train service into London (fast service in to Victoria evrey half hour), plus it has 1 primary school and 2 prep schools.

If your thinking of swanley then I would recommend Farningham, not far from Swanley, or Badgers Mount and Halstead they are both just buy Jcn 5 of the M25 and Knockholt Station (which is not in Knockholt) is in zone 6, or if you want to stay in Surrey then what about Oxted?

Edited by Inverness on Thursday 14th January 23:58

[Red Devil]

Inverness said:

Red Devil said:

The_Edge said:

Fello (neighbouring) PH'ers,

Wondered if anyone might be able to offer a straight and honest view of the Swanley area...?

Currently in Surrey, and considering moving over

Swanley looks reasonable for our requirements; primarily getting into London, and being able to afford something reasonable.

Considering Caterham and Sevenoaks too.

Welcome any local knowledge!

Cheers,

Edge

Er, last time I looked Caterham was in Surrey......
You don't mention where in the county you are at the moment.
What criteria are most important? Transport links? Schools? Shops?
Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford will be expensive compared to Swanley. Especially Shoreham.
Swanley has much better train services (junction for two routes) but I defintely wouldn't want to live there.
Sevenoaks is a bit further out (beyond the M25) but ticks most boxes imo.
Train wise the only problem is if your commute needs to take you to Victoria because there is no direct service.
You would have to take a Capital Connect service and change at Swanley or Bromley South.
The main line South Eastern service goes to Charing Cross then a walk to Embankment for the District/Circle line

Red Devil, IIRC Otford is the more expensive out of Eynsford, Shoreham and Otford due to the fact that Otford station has a better train service into London (fast service in to Victoria evrey half hour), plus it has 1 primary school and 2 prep schools.

If your thinking of swanley then I would recommend Farningham, not far from Swanley, or Badgers Mount and Halstead they are both just buy Jcn 5 of the M25 and Knockholt Station (which is not in Knockholt) is in zone 6, or if you want to stay in Surrey then what about Oxted?

Edited by Inverness on Thursday 14th January 23:58

That surprises me because when the OH and I were house hunting (admittedly many moons ago) we looked at several properties in Otford. Comparable ones in Shoreham village were way out of our price bracket.

The OP didn't mention his method of getting to the station (walk, bus, car). Walking from Farningham to Swanley is a non-starter and the bus service is pretty meagre to say the least! Wouldn't fancy the walk from Halstead to Knockholt station either. The bus is a tad more frequent but not by much. By car it makes little difference unless you are planning to leave it in the station car park all day. However size varies considerably. Knockholt, for example, is tiny and lots of people end up having to park on the old A21.

Oxted is certainly a possibilty. More and faster trains from/to Sevenoaks though, albeit different London termini from Oxted. However I got the impression that the OP wanted to move to Kent (I'm not moving anywhere in the near future.....).

[The_Edge]

Yep, Otford and Shoreham both seem to be a cut above the rest in terms of house prices... as you suggest, probably down to the rail links.

Ever heard of West Malling? Not further East as opposed to S.E., but hearing good things about it in terms of being within reach of the smoke, and a nice area...

[maccas99]

The_Edge said:

Yep, Otford and Shoreham both seem to be a cut above the rest in terms of house prices... as you suggest, probably down to the rail links.

Ever heard of West Malling? Not further East as opposed to S.E., but hearing good things about it in terms of being within reach of the smoke, and a nice area...

My neck of the woods, can recommend it!

[croggers]

Red Devil said:

Inverness said:

Red Devil said:

The_Edge said:

Fello (neighbouring) PH'ers,

Wondered if anyone might be able to offer a straight and honest view of the Swanley area...?

Currently in Surrey, and considering moving over

Swanley looks reasonable for our requirements; primarily getting into London, and being able to afford something reasonable.

Considering Caterham and Sevenoaks too.

Welcome any local knowledge!

Cheers,

Edge

Er, last time I looked Caterham was in Surrey......
You don't mention where in the county you are at the moment.
What criteria are most important? Transport links? Schools? Shops?
Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford will be expensive compared to Swanley. Especially Shoreham.
Swanley has much better train services (junction for two routes) but I defintely wouldn't want to live there.
Sevenoaks is a bit further out (beyond the M25) but ticks most boxes imo.
Train wise the only problem is if your commute needs to take you to Victoria because there is no direct service.
You would have to take a Capital Connect service and change at Swanley or Bromley South.
The main line South Eastern service goes to Charing Cross then a walk to Embankment for the District/Circle line

Red Devil, IIRC Otford is the more expensive out of Eynsford, Shoreham and Otford due to the fact that Otford station has a better train service into London (fast service in to Victoria evrey half hour), plus it has 1 primary school and 2 prep schools.

If your thinking of swanley then I would recommend Farningham, not far from Swanley, or Badgers Mount and Halstead they are both just buy Jcn 5 of the M25 and Knockholt Station (which is not in Knockholt) is in zone 6, or if you want to stay in Surrey then what about Oxted?

Edited by Inverness on Thursday 14th January 23:58

That surprises me because when the OH and I were house hunting (admittedly many moons ago) we looked at several properties in Otford. Comparable ones in Shoreham village were way out of our price bracket.

The OP didn't mention his method of getting to the station (walk, bus, car). Walking from Farningham to Swanley is a non-starter and the bus service is pretty meagre to say the least! Wouldn't fancy the walk from Halstead to Knockholt station either. The bus is a tad more frequent but not by much. By car it makes little difference unless you are planning to leave it in the station car park all day. However size varies considerably. Knockholt, for example, is tiny and lots of people end up having to park on the old A21.

Oxted is certainly a possibilty. More and faster trains from/to Sevenoaks though, albeit different London termini from Oxted. However I got the impression that the OP wanted to move to Kent (I'm not moving anywhere in the near future.....).

Why would you need to walk from Farningham to Swanley? Surely it would be much quicker to just walk to Farningham Road Station?

Horton Kirby has some nice places and is still small enough to be a village. South Darenth next door is pretty good, friendly, etc, but they have just knocked down the mill and built a lot of new houses on it, so I would expect that to change. Both are a 5 minute walk to the train station, main line into Victoria.

[Inverness]

The_Edge said:

Yep, Otford and Shoreham both seem to be a cut above the rest in terms of house prices... as you suggest, probably down to the rail links.

Ever heard of West Malling? Not further East as opposed to S.E., but hearing good things about it in terms of being within reach of the smoke, and a nice area...

West Malling is nice and I would be happy to live there, but it's another 15-20 minutes into or out of the big smoke (train or car), so thats a min extra half an hour a day, or 2 and half hours a week lost to traveling.

[greengreenwood7]

err Farningham road stn quite a distance from Farningham! Any of the places mentioned such as 7oaks, otford, shoreham, eynsford carry a premium either because of the rail links or because they're consdiered pretty villages. As the OP hasnt given an idea on property size or whether realistically he expects to be able to walk to a station its a bit difficult to do much aside from throwing out some place names for him to look at. Going east/south east from Brands there's a number of nice quiet places, all within 10-15 min drive of a station( f.road as mentioned above or eynsford), or as someone suggested w.malling area.

[croggers]

Damn, your right. I was thinking of Sutton at Hone.