Wandsworth Common in South West London is the location of C@fé 207. Wandsworth Common is a beautiful green space at the heart of a friendly local community. On the common you'll find features such as the duck ponds, children's play area plus plenty of open space for picnics, frisbee, etc.
Wandsworth Common is located midway between Tooting, Balham , Clapham, Wandsworth town and Earlsfield and is sometimes known as Upper Tooting. It falls mainly within the SW17 and SW18 postcode areas and on a sunny day attracts folk from as far afield as Furzedown, Wimbledon, Southfields, Streatham and beyond.
You can get to the common by a number of different routes. There are mainline trains from Wandsworth Common Station; these go to Clapham Junction, Battersea and Victoria in one direction and Balham, Streatham Common, Norbury, Wimbledon and Croydon in the other. Wandsworth Common is also accessible via London Underground, at Tooting Bec Station and Balham Station. Buses are another option, with the 219 and 319 buses both passing along Trinity Road between Tooting, Wandsworth and Clapham.
For the even more ecologically minded, the common is also criss-crossed by part of London's network of cycle paths.
There are dedicated tennis and football facilities on the common which can be booked in advance. One very popular activity is the kids football on Saturday morning, when literally hundreds of children from the area descend for football coaching. Boys and girls both take part and much fun is had by all.
Around the borders of the main part of the common itself is an exercise trail (aka as"the trim trail") which includes pieces of equipment that allow you to do pull ups, sit ups, leaps and many other exercises to your heart's content. Some of the equipment has no obvious use (in our opinion) so a creative mind would be useful if you want to make full use of the trail.
Close to Wandsworth Common, on the junction with Burntwood Lane, is a another sports ground called "Trinity Playing Fields" run by a local charity. They use it for both cricket in summer and soccer in the winter season and often hire it out to local schools for their sports activities.
One of the highlights of a trip to Wandsworth Common is visiting Bellevue Road, a row of shops opposite the green space. On Bellevue Road you'll find famous restaurants such as Chez Bruce, fashionable clothes boutiques, toy shops, plus estate agents, general stores and a pharmacy.
One famous local shop was the Lucky Parrot, an eclectic mix of gifts and greetings cards - plus a real parrot and lots of character. The Lucky Parrot had to close recently in sad circumstances, but we're glad to see a new enterprise, "What O'Clock" has opened up in its place - we wish the new owners all the best in their new venture!
Trinity Road (the A214) is the largest road passing through the Wandsworth Common area and a major commuter route for people travelling between Balham/Tooting/Streatham and Wandsworth/Putney/Fulham/Battersea. Between Wandsworth and Wandsworth Common the road is a dual carriageway, but this narrows into one lane each way close to the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building. Famous people to have lived on or very near to Trinity Road include Thomas Hardy (near the junction with Broderick Road) and David Lloyd George (who lived both on Trinity Road for a while then just off it on Routh Road in the so-called "toastrack" estate).
There are a number of schools in close vicinty to Wandsworth Common. These include state secondary schools such as Burntwood School (for girls) and Ernest Bevin School (for boys). For those favouring a private secondary education, there is Emanuel School for boys. There are a number of good local primary schools too - on a typical morning you'll often see kids heading off to Beatrix Potter School, Finton House School, Broomwood Hall and Fircroft School amongst others.
Email info@cafe207.com for more details.