Live in a real London village: new apartments launch in Dulwich on edge of Zone 2, with terraces, courtyards and communal gardens
Like Highgate in north London, south-of-the-river Dulwich is a real village — not merely an estate agent's invention — within sight of the capital's major landmarks.
It has a duck pond and cottages, quaint finger-post road signs, John Soane's famous art gallery, a golf course, renowned schools with large playing fields, and even a working toll road.
The area gains its character from the charitable foundation set up by actor Edward Alleyn, Shakespeare's contemporary, who left his 1,500-acre estate as an endowment for a school.
Dulwich College's control prevented Victorian railway developers slicing through the village and it still keeps a rein on the local market and individual house alterations, as many homes are held on long leases.
Commuter stations sit around the edges of the village, while the South Circular skirts round it, too. However, there is a leafy unity to the wider area that borders Sydenham and Herne Hill.
Busy Thurlow Park Road marks the true Dulwich frontier with a rare new scheme of eight three-bedroom duplexes and a four-bedroom penthouse, called 99 Thurlow Park Road, priced from £750,000.
You get a bit more for your money in this spot at the edge of Zone 2, yet it's a short walk to the village, West Dulwich station and lovely Belair Park. These new homes have up to 1,356sq ft of space, a terrace or courtyard, and there is a communal garden. Call 0344 800 1635.
