Blossom, Herne Hill, South London

 

Balham, South London

 

A major transport hub, the Victorian suburb of Balham has become a magnet for young professionals. Its origins can be traced back to the old coach route out of London to the south and west. But serious development only came with the opening of the railways in 1863, according to Wandsworth Council's official history. Balham's Art Deco tube station was designed by Charles Holden and opened with the extension of the Northern Underground Line in 1926.

Eynsford Bridge, Kent

 

Not far outside the M25, the village of Eynsford pulls in the day trippers, partly because of its picturesque seventeenth century stone bridge and adjacent ford across the river Darent.

Cockerhurst Oasts, Redmans Lane, Kent

 

On Redmans Lane - one of the more scenic back roads from London into Kent - you'll find converted oast houses facing a fine old mansion.

Westow House, Crystal Palace, South London

 

Something of a local landmark, Westow House is a large pub and hotel at one point of the triangle of roads at the heart of Crystal Palace. It is popular with local bohemians.

Pavilion Road, Sloane Square, Central London

 

Pedestrianised at the southern end, near Sloane Square, Pavilion Road is lined with cafes, restaurants and boutique shops, thanks to a revamp of the original Victorian stable blocks in the past decade.

The Pavement, Clapham, South London

 

Overlooking a fairly quiet road and Clapham Common, The Pavement is lined with elegant period buildings occupied by bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants, mostly patronised by bright young things.

Lower Sloane Street, Central London

 

Dating from the 1880s, the ornate red brick mansion blocks of Lower Sloane Street were built in the Queen Anne Revival style, along with other blocks around Sloane Square.  A contemporary aptly noted “the frowning canyons of bilious red brick behind Sloane Street with their fantastic reliefs of satyrs’ heads, garlands, cherubs, Corinthian scrolling and coiling vines” that are features of this red brick aesthetic, according to the conservation area report. Many of the mansion flats on Lower Sloane Street have French windows with balconies at first floor level.

The conservation area report explains that mansion flats were imported from continental Europe and had their heyday in the UK between1880-1910. "Although flats, they provided high status accommodation with spacious apartments and rooms for servants," it adds. "At the time they were thought of as avant-garde and were popular with artists and writers."