Drop-dead gorgeous village that could be a hundred miles from central London, but is actually under ten miles away in the London Borough of Sutton.
Why all this incredible enthusiasm, I hear you say?
For a start, the setting - two lovely ponds at its
heart with an Italianate bridge, surrounded by trees such as weeping willows, fine
period buildings including a museum and a Grade II listed church. Next a very
pretty high street popular with local hipsters for its stylish independent
coffee houses, trendy
art and gift shops and its small theatre, the Charles Cryer Theatre.
I could go on about its museum, its ecology centre, its conservation areas, the fact that it'
s home to one of CAMRA'
s favourite pubs in the whole of Britain and that it's only 25 minutes by Southern Rail from London Victoria train station; but I suggest you just visit it for yourself and have a lovely day out.
(one year ago)
- Ruby:"Let's go for a day out, maybe Richmond on Thames."
- Leonora:"No, sure it'
s fab there, but we've been too often."
- Ruby:"How about we go to Carshalton then; I hear it'
s the prettiest village in
England."
- Leonora:(struck by the brilliance of this suggestion) "Best idea you've ever had, Ruby; I've just read that it'
s totally cool there. Let'
s leave immediately!"
(now)
Ruby and Leonora now share a flat in Carshalton.