Crystal Palace Area Guide | RM Surveyors
In recent years, Crystal Palace has become known as the jewel in south London’s crown – and I don’t think it’s hard to see why!
Centred round a 3-sided high street known locally as ‘the triangle’, the area has a huge park, a warm community vibe, and is packed with independent shops, bars, cafés and restaurants.
I think this busy and creative hub has something of a village feel and enjoy visiting its popular weekly farmer’s market. Two huge television transmitter masts make Crystal Palace a landmark location visible from many parts of London – my young nephew once thought it was the Eiffel Tower! Plus at one of the highest points in London, Crystal Palace has stupendous views over the city and the Surrey countryside beyond.
Read on for my guide to Crystal Palace and discover why this sought-after part of south London is popular with cyclists, dinosaurs and ancient Egyptian sphynxes alike...
Typical housing stock
I think Crystal Palace is still a relatively affordable corner of south London, making it popular with first-time buyers, young couples and families who like its quirky charm and abundant supply of period conversion and purpose-built flats. You’ll find everything in Crystal Palace, from homes needing complete refurbishment to some very polished and swanky places indeed.
I’ve carried out Homebuyer surveys and valuations at a number of properties in the area, which range from quaint terraced houses to huge Victorian villas around the park – some of which have as many as 14 bedrooms! Most of these villas have now been converted into attractive period flats. A number of modern apartment blocks and several 1930s semi-detached houses also add to the area’s character.
Transport Links
Since the 2010 extension of the Overground line, Crystal Palace has become a great place for commuters who can reach London’s financial centre in around 20 minutes or Highbury and Islington in 40 minutes.
The area has two train stations, Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill, which during busy periods run services to Victoria up to six times an hour and London Bridge as often as seven times an hour. To pick up the tube in Brixton, locals either jump on the number 3 or 432 bus from the main bus station on Crystal Palace Parade.
Eating out
Crystal Palace has some excellent independent cafés such as Brown and Greens, which has branches in the park, train station and on the triangle. It does great coffee and brunches and is always buzzing with families and trendy locals.
There’s also Blowing Dandelion for outstanding handmade chocolates, and for coffee, beer, kombucha or natural wine try Four Boroughs – it’s become a hub for local cyclists alongside the world-famous Cadence bike centre – but more on that below!
I love the abundance of international restaurants in the area: try Mediterranea for a taste of Sardinia or Numidie, a French-Algerian bistro for particularly good tagines. On special occasions, locals head to either Joanna’s, an upscale all-day brasserie on Westow Hill or the Crystal Palace Food Market on Church Road for market-fresh fish. Be sure not to miss Joe’s, a hidden gem on Church Road that does an incredible range of botanical cocktails, including gin and homemade tonics, and delicious plates of tapas – all to live DJ sets.
brown & greens - a local favourite and now also running the cafe in the park
Grab a bite on market day, at on of the great street food stalls
Shopping
I’m a big fan of Crystal Palace farmers market which takes place every Saturday at Haynes Lane from 10-3. The market includes a fishmonger, organic baker and biodynamic greengrocer, as well as a low-waste store cupboard for whole-food refills and a host of delicious jams and preserves served up by my pal Wendy of Fruition. Comfort and Joy also deserve a shout out for the most amazing home-made soul food around.
Here’s what Karen Jones, a local nutritionist and Crystal Palace resident who runs the market had to say:
“We wanted to support small organic and biodynamic farmers and buy natural produce, but we also wanted to support local people. All our stalls are either from organic or biodynamic farms, or they are local people trying to run a business. We help to incubate them; they often go on to bigger markets and many become bigger than us.”
One of south London’s best garden centres is waiting to be discovered at the Secret Garden, which is tucked away behind Sainsbury’s carpark. It has an incredible wisteria plant which flowers spectacularly every spring and is definitely worth visiting for, in addition to all the beautiful plants and helpful advice you’ll get inside.
Flower lovers will enjoy feasting their eyes on the exquisite blooms sold by Crystal Palace Flowers, an independent florist set up outside the Alma pub. I also like the Bookseller Crow on the Hill; independent toy shop Papagaio; and Simon Carter’s dapper menswear. Keep an eye out for the little blue plaques in the triangle’s shop windows: these identify previous occupants, such as butchers and basket makers, in a heritage project run by The Norwood Society.
Parks and green spaces
Crystal Palace Park is one of the largest green spaces in south London: it was once a Victorian playground and is famous for its resident life-size model dinosaurs and mysterious Egyptian sphynxes. Spread over 200 acres, the park contains a boating lake, a traditional Victorian maze, a children’s farm and is also home to the National Sports Centre which hosts various national and international athletic meetings (more below).
The area gets its name from the stunning glass Crystal Palace originally erected in Hyde Park for London’s 1851 Great Exhibition, which was moved to Crystal Palace in 1854. Although the Crystal Palace itself was destroyed in a 1936 fire, today the Crystal Palace Museum showcases a number of original artefacts rescued from the fire, as well as local photographs and documents. The museum is housed within the only surviving building constructed by the Crystal Palace Company, dating from around 1880.
I was delighted to learn that The Crystal Palace Bowl, a legendary outdoor concert venue, is being restored following an exciting #BackTheBowl crowdfunding campaign run by the Crystal Palace Park Trust. My wife Kath saw Bob Marley there in the late 70s, and all being well, there is an amazing line-up planned for this summer.
In terms of other green spaces, Westow Park provides a lovely little oasis just off the triangle, and the 16 acres of beautiful woodland and meadow at Beaulieu Heights are one of the best kept secrets of Crystal Palace, offering stunning views over the South Downs.
My brother said when he first saw the Eiffel like tv aerial and the al fresco cafe table on the parade it reminded him of Paris!
Sports and leisure
Crystal Palace park’s National Sports Centre is epic and offers loads to the local community: it has a massive 50m pool, an athletics track, rock climbing, basketball, beach volleyball, indoor/outdoor football, a gym, exercise classes, a sports hall, a dance studio and trampolines. I think the wide walkway outside is begging for a food festival or market and am sure someone will spot this potential sooner or later!
As well as lots of yoga and well-being classes locally, the hills of Crystal Palace attract local cyclists in great numbers, centred around Cadence Performance, the UK’s busiest retul bike fit centre. There’s nothing quite like a nice cup of coffee and some cake after a bike ride up Palace’s punishing hills, so Cadence’s True Heart café is understandably popular with local cyclists and always has a great community feel.
I couldn’t write a blog on Crystal Palace without mentioning its much-loved football club and stadium, Selhurst Park: the team was originally comprised of workers from the Crystal Palace building itself – I can’t help wondering what they would have made of today’s Premiership footballers!
Arts and entertainment
I love Crystal Palace’s creative and slightly bohemian vibe: you’ll find loads of arts, crafts and tradespeople around, including milliner Dawn Wilson and woodworker Jake Dunne.
There are art clubs, a co-working space and creative workshops to be discovered at The Paxton Centre, loads of antique and vintage clothes stores along the triangle and in the market, and Upper Norwood library which has stood on Westow Hill for over 100 years.
There’s also the Crystal Palace Festival, a week-long series of music and events that takes place in the park and around the triangle each summer, and a polished 4-screen Everyman Cinema which opened in 2018.
Schools
The Gipsy Hill Federation runs three primaries in Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill, all of which are highly sought after. Rockmount Primary School is also very popular. The Harris Federation is a group of high performing academies, with a strong presence in the shape of Harris City Academy Crystal Palace and the Harris South Norwood Academy. Other popular schools in the area are Sydenham High (Private), Sydenham Girls and Cypress Infants and Juniors schools.
Local council
The Crystal Palace area falls under separate councils: Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, and Southwark. All but Bromley, which is Conservative, are Labour controlled.
Estate agencies
You’ll find all the usual agencies dotted round the triangle, as well as local independent Conrad Fox which offers a variety of properties for sale and to let. Other Estate Agents of note in the area include Winkworth, Pedder & iMove.