Mye PA recommends... The Rookery

Tucked away from the bustling area that is Streatham and its high street (the longest in Europe!) I have managed to discover a little treasure of history and nature:

The Rookery, one of Lambeth's 12 Green Flag Award-winning parks, is a beautiful landscaped area nestled between Streatham Common and Norwood Grove with an ornamental pond, flower and herbaceous beds, and a rock garden with streams that make this little gem a wonder to be discovered again and again. Notes on the history of the gardens are spread around as testimony of its longevity and importance: for example you will come across one of the original wells that throughout the 18th century supplied Streatham of its renowned health-giving natural spring waters.

The Rookery Café right by the entrance gate, is a precious little place where you can stock up on refreshments to enjoy on a picnic, or rest after a long walk up and down the green hills. In fact The Rookery is not just a formal garden: it also has areas of woodland that are important for biodiversity and environmental education.

Hidden within the foliage and the greatest find of all, the White House is an incredibly striking, early 19th-century, Grade II-listed building: the property and the surrounding 32 acres were sold to the council for £18,300 in 1926 when it was opened with a grand ceremony by the Prince of Wales. Money for its upkeep has often been difficult to find and in 1982 the first and second floors were sold off as luxury flats, together with the lodge.

The ground-floor music room is now used by a local social club, and the Norwood Grove Bowling Club uses another room.

It is claimed that on a clear day you can make out Windsor Castle and Epsom racecourse. Go, explore!

https://www.therookerycafe.co.uk/