Croydon - An Old Town

Croydon - An Old Town

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The town of Croydon in South London is a place that offers something for everyone. It is one of the biggest retail centres outside of central London and has a fantastic array of restaurants, bars, visitor attractions, heritage and open spaces. Its location makes it perfect for exploring central London and is also convenient for travelling south of the capital to visit towns in the South East and South of England.

Listed in the Domesday Book, the area around Croydon has been inhabited for many centuries, with evidence of a Bronze Age settlement at Croham Hurst and a Roman settlement around the London to Brighton Way Roman road. During the Middle Ages the town expanded into a thriving market town, producing leather, charcoal and beers and in 1803 the world's first horse drawn railway opened between Croydon and Wandsworth which later became incredibly important in making the town the central London commuter hotspot it is today.

Today the town is one the main transport corridor between the heart of London and the South East of England. Travelling south from Croydon, residents can arrive on the beaches at Brighton in less than an hour, whilst the train network will whisk them into central London in just 20 minutes. Trains also offer direct connections to Gatwick and Luton from East Croydon station whilst the Tramlink service on the Croydon Loop offers a less hectic alternative to getting into the city.

Croydon is one of the biggest and most important shopping centres to the South of London and boasts over 2.5 million square feet of retail space. Much of this is concentrated in the town's two main shopping centres, the Whitgift Centre and Centrale, which are linked together by a pedestrianised street. Between the two centres most of the UK's best know retailers are represented, from large department stores to smaller designer shops. Just out of town the Valley Park shopping area houses larger warehouse type stores, including a sizeable B&Q and an IKEA.

Surprisingly for somewhere so near to the nation's capital, Croydon has an amazing number of parks and open spaces, with more than 120 individual parks listed in the local area. Families will enjoy visiting the adventure playgrounds around the area or cycling through the extensive country park and couples will be able to relax in the ornamental gardens with their ponds and lakes or take a ramble through the woodlands on the outskirts of the town.

The town has many interesting sights, new and old, to explore, including the Whitgift Almshouses, the Clock Tower Museum, the now disused Croydon Airport and the impressive nearby Addington Palace. Woodside Green gives visitors the experience of stepping into a rural village, with a green and traditional pubs to enjoy whereas the Croydon Clocktower is one of South London's premier arts and entertainment venues.

Recently Croydon has enjoyed the announcement of a major regeneration planned for the city centre, known as Croydon Vision 2020 which will include a brand new shopping centre and a site planned to be called the Croydon Gateway which will house an area of offices, bars and a park.

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