A Day in Peckham

Last week I had a few days in London and managed to fit in a trip to an area I haven’t visited before for the next installment of my series, ‘Exploring London’s Suburbs’. Read on to find out what I discovered on my day in Peckham.

Peckham is not somewhere that has been even remotely on my radar. I suppose the only thing I ever thought about when I heard it mentioned was Only Fools and Horses (if you don’t know what I’m talking about it’s an old English sitcom – have a look on YouTube). But then I came across a cookbook called Persia in Peckham and found out that the cookbook was written by a lady who owns a cafe and shop full of Iranian goodies and knew I had to go there.

It was only after I’d already decided to go to Peckham that I realised how close it is to Dulwich, which I explored on my last visit to a London suburb.

Peckham isn’t on the underground, but does have a couple of overground stations which link into the underground so it’s still really easy to get to. I got the train to Peckham Rye station which seemed to be the most central for what I wanted to do.

My research had showed me that Peckham is a suburb of two distinct halves. On one side it has a vibrant African and Caribbean community and is a great place to go if you want to stock up on ingredients for either of those two cuisines. This side of Peckham is the gritty, colourful, lively side.

On the other side you find trendy, arty streets which scream regeneration yet are sedate and quiet.

It had taken me a couple of hours to get to Peckham as I was staying with a friend way out on the other side of London and so by the time I arrived I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d want lunch. And I wanted to be at Persepolis, home of the Persia in Peckham cookbook, for lunch so that was the kind of general direction I was going to head in first.

Leaving the station I walked down Peckham Rye Lane which is lined with stalls selling all kinds of unusual fruit and veg, shops selling products for Afro hair, phone shops, discount shops and all the usual chain shops. It was all very vibrant and I wanted to have a good look round and take photos, but knew I’d be tempted to buy heavy vegetables and didn’t want to carry them round all day. So as I assumed I’d be finishing my day here and could shop and take pictures then, I didn’t take any photos. But then I spent so much time doing other things I never made it back, so I don’t have any photos of the high street.

At the top of the high street is the library which won the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2000 for its unusual design. I went inside to have a quick look round and was pleased to see it was being well utilised with lots of people reading and working inside. The inverted ‘L’ shape of the building means the reading room is elevated above street level and so is quieter. The horizontal part of ‘L’ forms a large shelter over part of the plaza below.

The rest of the plaza is a large open space with a Filipino food kiosk and a black cab that has been turned into a take-away coffee place. There’s also a peace wall which stems from the civil unrest in 2011. After the rioting lots of people wrote post-it notes expressing their love and appreciation for Peckham and stuck them on the boards covering Poundland’s smashed windows. Once everything was fixed up it seemed a shame to get rid of the post-its so they were photographed and now form part of a large wall mural.

Not far along from the library and peace wall is Persepolis. It’s a tiny corner shop with a cafe in the back. I recognised its yellow frontage straight away from the cover on my cookbook.

I squeezed inside (and I really mean squeezed – it’s only a small shop, but is absolutely crammed leaving little room for movement. When someone came in with a pushchair it took a lot of strategic manoeuvring and breathing in to prevent being stuck in there forever. Not that that would have been a bad thing).

Shelves were packed with bags of spices and dried limes, bitter orange peel and rose petals, tins of cardamon tea, teapots and tea glasses, shishas, bottles of rose cordial and jars of pickles. At the front was a glass cabinet filled with mouth-watering baklava. I wanted to buy everything.

I squished myself between the shelves to the cafe at the back and ordered a mezze. It came with bread and I also had a glass of doogh which is a salty yoghurt drink similar to an Indian lassi. I chatted to the waitress and got some recommendations of what to buy in the shop. I wanted to be able to make the recipes in the book without having to carry half the shop around with me for the rest of the day.

Lunch and Iranian ingredient shopping over, I began my exploration of the trendier side of Peckham.

Bellenden is posh. The enclave of small streets through the middle of which runs Bellenden Road was laid out in the 1870s on land that was previously used for fruit growing. It became a haven for French Huguenots and still has French influences such as the chocolate shop I was to visit later.

Many walls had murals and mosaics on them. The mosaics are the work of artist Tom Phillips and the murals are based on paintings found in the 17th and 18th century collection in Dulwich Picture Gallery. These murals are part of the Dulwich Outdoor Gallery and have spread into Peckham from Dulwich (told you it was close).

There aren’t many streets where I’d find the bollards interesting. Actually I don’t remember ever being interested in bollards before. But the bollards on Bellenden Road are worth paying attention to because they are also part of the art project covering the area. They were designed by sculptor Anthony Gormley who used to have a studio in the area.

Some of the bollards are said to be controversial because they resemble a certain part of the male anatomy. Really? I wonder which bit that is then …

I found a couple of nice little parks and some VERY trendy shops. I didn’t dare go in them for fear of being thrown out by the fashion police. Even the local grocer’s with its artfully arranged lemons seemed like it belonged more on a film set than on a suburban London high street.

On one corner, in what used to be a printer’s was a tiny art gallery. I spent a few minutes looking around before realising that I had no chance of ever understanding the exhibits and so left to go somewhere with wares I knew I’d have no problem understanding: a chocolate shop.

As the only customer I had chance to chat to the owner, a French lady called Isabelle. She established Melange ten years ago on Bellenden Road, but a couple of years ago moved to new premises just round the corner on Maxted Road. She told me how she makes all the chocolate in her little shop and was currently making batches of Easter eggs. She was also making Easter owls. No, me neither, but they looked very cute.

I ordered a mug of thick real hot chocolate and a slice of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake. Isabelle seemed a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to manage this much chocolate and assured me she could wrap my cake up for me to take it away if I wasn’t able to manage it. I’m pleased to say that my many years of chocolate training paid off and I easily devoured both.

Fuelled by my chocolate fix I headed towards Peckham Rye Common and Park to work it off. Cutting down back streets I came across a mural in honour of William Blake. The 18th century poet had a vision of the prophet Ezekiel followed by visions of angels whilst in Peckham. This was when he was only about eight years old and so presumably before he started using psychedelic drugs.

The common, like many commons, is a flat expanse of green land with a few trees dotted about. In case you don’t know what I mean by ‘common’, a common is exactly what it sounds like: a piece of common land for people to use. In the past locals would have had the right to graze their sheep on it. There were no sheep on it during my visit, just schoolgirls making their way home and the odd dog walker.

Probably the last time animals were grazed here would have been during the Second World War. Several concrete huts were built on the common to house Italian Prisoners of War. Many of the prisoners were captured in North Africa and transported to Britain for work in agriculture, bomb damage clearance and construction work. The Italians imprisoned here raised pigs and chickens and grew vegetables on the common. They were later replaced by German POWs and refugees from Europe. Although the livestock has long gone, the huts survived until 2009 when they were finally demolished.

Peckham Rye Park adjoins the common at the far end and is the complete antithesis to the au natural common. Crazy paving winds through trees and bushes, leading to ponds and a lake. A small stream, the only remaining overground section of the River Peck, flows into them. The Park and common are together a Grade 1 listed Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. The Peck, along with the park’s lake and ponds support a variety of plants, insects and birds.

A Japanese garden is one of several formally laid out gardens. York stone pillars, forged iron arches and a large wooden pergola sit amongst flower beds. Nothing much was growing in February, but I can imagine a riot of colour and life come summer.

The light was beginning to fade as I walked round the park. I still had so much more I wanted to do and see in Peckham, not least get back to Peckham Rye Lane to take photos and buy strange vegetables, but alas, that will have to wait for another visit.

What do you think about my day in Peckham? Do you think it’s somewhere you’d like to visit? Which London suburb do you think I should explore next? Share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments below. 

Like this? Read these next:

A Day in Dulwich
A Day in Walthamstow
The Freud Museum

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