Woodland Road, London, SE19

A one-bedroom ground-floor flat with a long lease of 146 years, reasonable service charges and a sizeable reserve fund of circa £25,000. There’s also a private garden with direct access, and our much-loved Triangle at the top of the road. This one ticks a lot of boxes, and at 571 sq ft it's a fantastic size for a one-bed. The layout works well — bedroom at the front, living room in the middle, kitchen at the rear with a door straight out to the garden, it’s even got a larder, what more could you possibly want?!

This flat really does offer it all, it ticks all the boxes we find buyers want, with the garden, the location, etc, and it’s incredibly charming, practical and is offered in excellent condition. Our client has called the flat home for many years and has loved and cared for it, as is evident from the condition of the flat. There’s a great balance in how the space is distributed, with the bedroom, living and kitchen/diner space all being decent-sized rooms.

The living space is in the middle, and at 4.17 x 3.66m it's a well-proportioned room with stripped wooden floorboards, an original Victorian fireplace, built-in shelving in both alcoves, and a large arched sash window to the front. The period detail here is beautiful — the cornicing, the deep skirting, the arched window surround — it all adds to the feel, and it's the kind of room that's immediately comfortable to be in.

The kitchen is 3.63 x 3.48m, offering generous cooking space and room for a dining table. The kitchen is pretty with white shaker units, wood effect worktops, a teal metro tile splashback and a gas hob — it's a proper working kitchen, not a galley afterthought. There's a larder cupboard off to the side, which adds more storage than you'd typically get in a one-bedroom flat, and a door at the rear that opens directly onto the garden. In summer, that connection between the kitchen and the outside space adds genuine value, and throughout the year the kitchen has a lovely vibe given how bright it is due to the size of the two windows in it.

The bedroom at 4.14 x 3.66m faces the front of the building with two arched sash windows in a shallow bay and shutters throughout. It's a good-sized double — a king-size bed fits comfortably with room on both sides, and there's enough floor space left for freestanding storage without it feeling crowded.

The bathroom has been done properly — full-length bath with an overhead rainfall shower, a bold navy geometric tiled wall behind the bath that makes a strong statement against the white tiles everywhere else, and brass fittings throughout. It's the kind of bathroom that you’ll love waking up to get ready in every morning, and it is presented in excellent condition, with all the important windows for ventilation.

Moving outside, the garden is one of the flat's strongest cards, and it's been established over time in a way that you simply can't replicate quickly. Mature planted borders run along both sides, there's a central lawn, and a gravel seating area at the rear with enough room for a proper table and chairs. A hammock strung between the trees at the back gives you some sense of the size of the garden. The direct access from the kitchen means it genuinely gets used — it's not the kind of garden you admire through a window and forget about.

Woodland Road is one of those streets that gets the balance right — quiet and residential, but only a short walk from everything the Triangle has to offer. The Triangle's independent offer is well established and genuinely good: coffee shops that take it seriously, restaurants worth booking ahead, wine bars, vintage shops and an Everyman Cinema. Brown & Green handles breakfast and brunch with real care. Four Boroughs is where the coffee drinkers go. The Alma on Westow Hill has a Victorian interior worth seeing and a food menu worth returning to. The Saturday food market just down Haynes Lane brings local and sustainable producers to the neighbourhood every weekend — it's become a proper local institution.

Westow Park is a short walk away — almost 7 acres, mature trees and a playground. Crystal Palace Park is also a stone’s throw away; 200 acres of Grade II listed grounds, the newly refurbished Victorian dinosaur sculptures, a boating lake and the National Sports Centre with an Olympic pool and gym. There’s a huge overhaul of the sports centre on the way, and this will truly change the attractiveness of living near the park.

Gipsy Hill station is 0.3 mi away, or approx. a seven min walk (according to Google Maps) and gives you direct trains to Victoria and London Bridge, say hello to the famous resident cat “Fanny” who’s been charming locals for years. There’s no resident cat at Crystal Palace station, sadly, but it is a very easy 10 min walk away (downhill too!) and also gives access to London Bridge & Victoria, but adds the Overground Windrush line through to Shoreditch and Dalston to your commuting options.

Tenure-wise, the flat has a long lease with approx 146 years remaining and the service charge is approx. £1500 PA, although we are waiting for confirmation on this at the time of publishing. The sinking fund (reserve fund) is circa £25,000 and as a result of this the service charge is planned to reduce.