The Unexpected Beauty of Croydon

This is where I confess that I have not always loved living in this town. I first moved here in the late 1990s, with my family. I've made several attempts to move away but ended up moving back. As a teenager, I found central Croydon soulless and ugly. Grey buildings under a grey sky, punctuated by grey, windswept, traffic-choked dual carriageways. The only way to get across the dual carriageways was through dingy, smelly underpasses. The shopping centres were filled with generic chain stores. The only thing I liked was the fast trains taking me to more interesting places, like central London and Brighton. Whitgift Centre c. 2001 Looking back, the real reason I hated living in Croydon was that I didn't have friends here and I lacked the confidence to put myself into situations where I might make new friends. I didn't have much appreciation for nature or for history. I took the bustling town centre for granted. I enjoyed browsing HMV and Virgin Megastores for CDs but had litt...

I'm not even going to try to claim that Purley Way is beautiful*. It's a former industrial area that has gradually evolved into out of town shopping. It's a horrible place to drive, walk, cycle, or take the bus to. The only decent way to get there is by tram, in my opinion, because the tram route bypasses the awful roads and junctions.  Tram at Reeves Corner, 2020 Did you know that the River Wandle passes under Purley Way and is visible close to both sides of this traffic-clogged artery? It's worth braving a small stretch of road to follow the river to Waddon Ponds. Mural celebrating Croydon's saffron growing heritage under the Roman Way From Croydon town centre or the Old Town, it's a short walk to Wandle Park. Go to Reeves Corner, at the bottom of Church Street, and cross over the tram tracks. You'll see the Roman Way elevated dual carriageway called Jubilee Bridge (I've always thought this a terrible tribute to the Queen's longevity) - head for th...