Great things about Stroud Green and the local area that newcomers might not know about

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Mirandola

The wealth of independent shops/small businesses that keep on opening and mostly surviving Whatever you think of Hettie Holland/ the Concept/ Italian Farmers/ Mega Cafe/ Organic Shop/ Deli @80/ Seasons/ Dotori, etc... they're all ours not shared with every other high street in the land. The new art space at John Jones. WE HAVE A PROPER GALLERY. This makes me so happy. That there are still cheap shops for food & clothes. That I hear half a dozen different languages every time I go to playgroups. That there are squillions of things to do with children here - check out www.ollyolly.co.uk for listings. Secret parks everywhere - the Gillespie Road one is wonderful That it's near Hornsey Road. The woman dentist who's taken over from Dr Shah is very good. I like it here.

vetski

Excellent & proper gelato at the Italian place next to Christopher Charles.<div>.</div><div>The WI.</div><div><br></div><div>The omelettes at MegaCafe.</div><div><br></div><div>Season.</div><div><br></div><div>Osteria Tufo.</div><div><br></div><div>The fruit guy at Finsbury Park station (newcomers - he's at the Wells Terrace exit).</div><div><br></div><div>Paks. I know they've taken over the lower half of SGR, but if you have complicated hair, they have everything you could ever want & then some!</div><div><br></div><div>Being able to buy milk etc pretty much 24/7, 365 days a year.</div><div><br></div><div>Transport services - 2 bus stations, 2 tube lines, 8 railway platforms.</div><div><br></div><div>Multi-ethnicity.</div><div><br></div><div>Can't imagine living anywhere else!</div>

Arkady

Mmmm, stuff that newcomers might not know about...<div>Dream River cafe’s smoothies – rarely mentioned here.<br>Granville Road Spinney.<br>Traditional English breakfast at Piccollo Diavolo – rivals Front Room café for quality and value.<br></div>

JoeV

<span style="font-weight: normal;">In the evenings, and the occasional morning when I can manage, you'll find me lumbering along the </span><b>Parkland Walk, </b>which I think is just about the best place in London, for my daily bit of exercise. <div style="font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-weight: normal;">As you meander up to Highgate, along the way you'll encounter an array of interesting sights, sounds and creatures: foxes, strollers, birds, runners, muntjacs, bicyclists, squirrels, bramble, the green man, skateboarders, graffiti artists, dog walkers: <span style="font-size: 10pt;">the flora and fauna of the capital.</span></div>

miss annie

There is a branch of the Women's Institute, and it's not just for white, middle class women. All women are welcome. http://stroudgreenwi.webs.com/ There is also a Goth and Goth friendly WI just up the road at Hornsey Rise. If you fall into the Islington side, you can have a share in a community allotment project, PM me for details. There is a thriving creative community here and the studio where all the props for Tim Walker's photo shoots are made is just down the road. People come from all over the UK to buy prom dresses in Fonthill Rd's dress shops, go on a Saturday for prime people watching. We have a theatre right next to Finsbury Park station. Stroud Green Fruit & Veg, opposite Petek, next to the kebab shop has the best seasonal fruit & veg and is cheaper and better quality than Tesco. There are Comorants and Kingfishers on the part of the New River that runs through Finsbury Park. Finsbury Park is an actual park as well as a tube station. It is big and has a good boating lake. The Old Dairy' s illustrated brickwork shows a lady with six fingers. The Parkland Walk is wonderful at all times of the year, but especially when the blackberries are ripe.

vetski

Can't believe I forgot Park Theatre!<div><br></div><div>And small correction, Gothic Valley WI now meets at Lauderdale House in Highgate, 3rd Wed of the month, 7 for 7.30pm. </div><div><br></div><div>Also:</div><div>Harringay Market.</div><div><br></div><div>The Turkish food shops & restaurants on Green Lanes.</div><div><br></div><div>Stroud Green & Harringay Library.</div>

vetski

E.Mono, the kebab shop at Finsbury Park station, is amazing; open till 3am.<div><br></div><div>Generally good pubs; special mention for the Faltering Fullback's outdoor bit (it's on Perth Road) & the Thai food is pretty good.</div><div><br></div><div>The Silver Bullet club opposite Finsbury Park station is good - a very varied programme, from jazz to industrial to metal.</div><div><br></div><div>The more I think about it, the more I realise what a brilliant area this is.</div>

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Marquis

<p>When they let the Swood out in the Brownswood Tavern. That's rather special, but not quite Stroud Green.</p><p>Oh, and there's also a gay sauna. Not a very good one, but hey ho. At least it was there a while ago.</p>

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Marquis

Yes, that. Special, as I said.

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Marquis

<p>Probably not. I haven't been back since a patron followed me round wanting to bite me.</p><p>Wasn't there also a mythical torture dungeon?</p>

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NorthNineteen

The Factory gym and dance studio on Hornsey Road.  My wife goes there and thinks it's great, independent, good value and especially if you want to do dance (huge variety from modern/street to ballet) then it's a great local resource.<br><br>That you cycle into central London on quiet/dedicated routes/cul-de-sacs all the way into the West End.  From Stroud Green to the West End the busiest road is Hanley Road (and it's almost all downhill)<br>

NorthNineteen

Good thread by the way :-) I'm liking the positivity.<br>

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miss annie

And there we go. Back to square one.

dion

The view from archway bridge. Suicide optional

Jonathan

There is a lovely wooden penguin height chart on a wall in Thorpedale Road. My daughter loves measuring herself there. One day when we were there someone opened the gate next to it, so I thanked him for putting it up: he had no idea what I was talking about and was surprised to see it there. So who knows how it got there! The fact we have a full cricket field (and that it is a product of the Blitz). That the inspiration for Tiny Tim lived on Hanley Road when Dickens visited. On Hornsey Road (where I defer to @Mirandola) the photo and sign outside a shop clearly declaring ownership of a dividing wall. And the Victorian butchers shop that opens for free on Open House. And the North London Spiritualist Church (never been inside, but a great building from the outside). And Ajani. And ... come to think of it, loads of things.

NorthNineteen

<font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">An amazing (free and supervised) adventure playground on Grenville Road in the Upper West Side of Stroud Green</font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">http://www.islingtonplay.org.uk/adventure-play/timbuktu-adventure-playground/</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div>

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miss annie

She's called Munever, I thought it was Minerva until I actually read the sign. The elephant hedge, and the whale hedge. You can cross Fiveways diagonally once you know the sequence of traffic lights.

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miss annie

I wonder why she had it written differently on her shop sign? How odd.

conformable_kate

Timbuktu is brilliant. I love places where children come back soaking wet, covered in sand, smelling of woodsmoke and having bought lots of illicit brilliant blue sweets from the corner shop. Makes me wish I could be doing it too. <div><br></div><div>(Almost. Actually not really keen on being wet and sandy. Or on blue tongues.)</div>

Jonathan

Woodfall Road and Stonenest Street. Beauty in street names! The launderette by the railway bridge on Stapleton Hall Road that looks fresh from the 1950s.

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