My wife and I in the process of buying a house in West Dulwich and are in need of help & advise of what WD offers. We are moving from Herne Hill in December (hopefully!) and don't know the area. After coming from such a brilliant community we would welcome any advise on where to go and what to do...or indeed not do! We are in our early thirties with a 6 month old boy.
Many thanks in advance.

is this a serious post?

west dulwich --- from herne hill. you're moving about 1500 metres south! 'don't know the area'? you're in the area!

Charming! How welcoming.

At the risk of sounding pedantic and unwelcoming, you are looking for 'advice' and not 'advise'. As WSE said, you are in the area so come along and have coffee or something in Cafe Rouge and have a walk around to get a feel of the place.

Try TeaWest at the Rosendale Road shops for a coffee and chat, or the community coffee mornings in the Crypt at All Saints Church on Thursdays.

West Dulwich is probably a more "settled" area than Herne Hill or East Dulwich and caters more for families, so you'll be moving into the right demographic for your family!

Welcome to the area! Great place to meet people is at the coffee stall outside the Rosendale shops on a Saturday morning. The guy who runs it (Kurt) has a little one and the stall is always surrounded by locals and parents passing by with buggies. We've met loads of locals there - you'll feel at home in no time and get all the goss on what to do with your baby. Excellent coffee too.

I wouldn't worry too much about WSE's comment. If you have a look at other non-contributions they have made, they're pretty obnoxious all the time

....and, Sherlock, if you fancy a coffee one weekend I'll show you round the area.

Sherlock, whereabouts are you buying?

Whereas Herne Hill might not be very far away, depending on which end it is, it is more likely that West Dulwich folk would pass through Herne Hill than the other way. If you're in need of some tips and a feel for the area, I'd suggest you check out the shops on Park hall Road/Croxted Road which have most of the local shops (Tesco Metro, Cafe Rouge, Italian Deli etc..). There are also some handy shops on Rosendale Road near the junction with Park Hall Road such as Tea West (as has been mentioned), Oddbins, Doctors surgery, dry cleaners and a new health shop Acorn Foods which sells whole foods and asian treats. I'm not sure if you'll be sending your 6 monthold to nursery but if so there's a Asquith Court on Park Hall Road, Chellow Dene on Croxted Road and a new nursery just opened on Rosendale Road called Rainbow Smiles.

Coming from herne Hill you will probably find life much slower here. There's plenty of greenery and by and large residents are quite active hence a number of residents associations. For pubs there's the Allyen's Head on Park Hall Road and the Rosendale on the junction of Rosendale and Park Hall Roads. Further afield you have the Crown and Greyhound (the Dog) in the Village and the Mansion at Paxton Green.

Best of luck with your move.

I would also add that the nursery at the church on Rosendale Road, called Nelly's Nursery is the best in the area. We have our twins there and it is excellent.

Many thanks to you all...but in retrospect we have decided to move to Belsize Park instead. Best of luck to you all in WD.