Completely London

London's great divide - One lives North, one lives South. We get them to swap for 24 hours
London's great divide - One lives North, one lives South. We get them to swap for 24 hours
London's great divide - One lives North, one lives South. We get them to swap for 24 hours
Emma Perry, committed North Londoner, samples East Dulwich, SE22
Emma Perry, committed North Londoner, samples East Dulwich, SE22
Emma Perry, committed North Londoner, samples East Dulwich, SE22

Emma Perry, committed North Londoner,
samples East Dulwich, SE22

I told my daughters to pack a compass, a bonsai and a periscope. We were going south of the Thames to SE22. I associate South London with a lack of greenery and hemmed-in horizons, but East Dulwich is a surprising oasis. North Cross Road has a bustling Saturday-morning street market alongside gems such as sweet emporium Hope and Greenwood and Dr Boo with its fancy lotions. In the evening we headed for local gastropub The Palmerston, where my husband savoured Harveys on draught and I a decadent chocolate pithivier. On Sunday the girls enjoyed Dulwich Park but by now I was aching to return to what I think of as London – the view from our street is of the City and Canary Wharf. Time to dig out that compass – there’s a reason the needle points north.

Jessica Cargill Thompson, steadfast South Londoner, discovers Crouch End, N8
Jessica Cargill Thompson, steadfast South Londoner, discovers Crouch End, N8
Jessica Cargill Thompson, steadfast South Londoner, discovers Crouch End, N8

Jessica Cargill Thompson, steadfast South Londoner,
discovers Crouch End, N8

Despite being a South London evangelist, I will concede that there’s one thing North has over South: the Tube. Crouch End, however, doesn’t. Typical! A succession of different forms of transport eventually spits me out at The Broadway, which is buzzing. I check out the pleasantly chaotic Prospero’s Books, and in Coffee Cake I see a display of cakes so beautiful that I’m almost moved to tears. Later, Comedy Downstairs at the King’s Head – said to be ‘London’s oldest comedy room’ – is a treat. By Sunday afternoon I’m getting twitchy. I’m about to fall off the top of my mini A-Z, and it unnerves me. I yearn for the underlying edginess of Peckham borders and the chip South Londoners bear on their collective shoulder. I tell friends I’m writing about why South is better than North. ‘Three words,’ they say. ‘Cos. It. Is.’

Who knew? Richmond upon Thames is the only London borough to span the Capital’s river, but is officially classified as south London.

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