We originally lived in Islington, but moved a little further north for more space and leafiness as the family grew — a classic north London migration. I had to stay within proximity of Arsenal, and I’m still walking distance from the Emirates.
Everyone says this about their area of London, but Crouch End really does have a village feel. You’ve got access to all you would wish for in a modern metropolis, yet you’re surrounded by parks and trees.
Best eating and drinking
There are some great restaurants and it’s only been getting better over the years. On Park Road there’s a brilliant tapas place with a really buzzy atmosphere called Bar Esteban, which is as close as you can get to Madrid.
Les 2 Garçons – or ‘the two garçons’ as it’s known in Franglais – is a French Bistro with proper regional cooking that opened last year on Middle Lane. Deliveries from seafood restaurant Lyon’s sustained us during lockdown.
My local, The Railway Tavern, is like Crouch End itself – understated but great when you get inside. They haven’t tarted it up, it’s just a regular pub with quizzes and a good Irish session every now and again. They do a great Guinness, of which I’m an aficionado.
Subject to territorial disputes, the Victoria Stakes, at the foot of Muswell Hill, is the place for a Sunday roast. It’s named for one of the events at the old race course at Alexandra Palace, which few people seem to remember.
Where I work out
Park Road Pools has a 50-metre outdoor lido surrounded by grass and hedges. If you’re boiling hot and can’t get out of London, that’s the place to go. The hardcore swimmers are there throughout the year, and the softies like me go in the summer.
To commune with nature
We’re surrounded by parks, all linked together by the Parkland Walk, a disused railway line that goes from Finsbury Park all the way to Highgate. It gets a bit bogged up during the winter, but I’ve got visions of it becoming something like the High Line in New York. Our house backs onto it.
Look out for the bridge when you get to Crouch End, as there’s a fantastic new cafe called Merro a few steps up. The owner loves dogs, so we stop off for some great coffee and free doggy bites.
For a culture fix
We have an annual art trail, which is great because you get to nose round artists’ houses – it’s part-property spying, part-art.
When I first moved here there was no cinema, but now we’ve got two almost cheek-by-jowl. A hat tip to Arthouse for being first, followed shortly by the mighty Picturehouse who set up almost next door on Tottenham Lane.
If you want to go high culture, they sometimes stream the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre.
Getting around
You’ve got good access to the Finsbury Park tube on the W7 bus which takes around 10 minutes, or there’s Archway in the opposite direction.
Grocery shopping
We’ve got the supermarkets, including a very good Co-op, but the independent shops are enthusiastically supported. Dunns Bakery has been selling fantastic home-baked everything since Victorian times – you name it and they do it fantastically. There’s also a lovely wet fish shop called Walter Purkis that’s been there for ages.
Dream street
It’s a late Victorian-Edwardian village so there isn’t anything going back to Georgian times which would really rock the boat.
I’ll go full twenty-first century and say the new flats in Hornsey Town Hall, which has finally been refurbished. Its arts centre could be the jewel in the crown for the area.
Something you only see in Crouch End
Bob Dylan having a cup of tea with Crouch Enders. This is the stuff of local legend, but the story is that Dylan was recording at The Church Studios, and ended up at the wrong house when looking for its former owner, Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics.
A woman answers the door but doesn’t recognise him, so when he asks for Dave she thinks he’s looking for her husband who’s popped to the shops. Dylan ends up having a cup of tea while waiting for this man, who of course turns out to be a regular Crouch End resident.
What’s the catch?
The downside is the upside — lack of tube. Those of us that live here see it as a bonus as it deters people. Other than that? I’ve lived in plenty of other places in London and this’ll do me.
In three words…
Child-friendly. Community-spirited. Chilled.
What it costs
Buying in Crouch End
Average flat price: £563,700
Average house price: £1,312,875
Renting in Crouch End
Average rent price: £2,030 pcm
Source: Hamptons & ONS
Schools
Coleridge Primary School is rated ‘Outstanding’, by Ofsted, while Ashmount, Rokesly, St Peter-in-Chains and St Gildas’ are Good. Highgate Wood and Hornsey School for Girls are the local secondaries.
