Trendy Tooting has plenty to recommend it, with its bright, open green spaces, lively high streets and new openings arriving by the month. The area has its well-known Commons to thank for the wealth of space and greenery, including the lido, which is the largest of its kind in the UK. Residents love its welcoming community feel and the choice of schools available. Its rising popularity with young families means there is plenty to do with the little ones.

Tooting remained a small Surrey village until the 1880s when its transformation into a London suburb began. In 1900, it became part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. During the next 20 years, many fine villas (Park Hill, Lynwood House and Elmwood House among them) were demolished to make way for streets of terraced housing. Between 1901-11, the London County Council built a pioneering new cottage estate for working-men and their families: the Totterdown Fields Estate, now a conservation area. In 1926, Tooting's transport links were improved by the opening of two underground stations on the extended Northern Line (then the City & South London Railway).

Our local expert Simon recommends the flat whites at Brickwood and the award-winning Tooting Market. Giovanni’s is a local favourite, serving excellent and authentic Italian food and wine. Tooting is home to a very high-spirited bar and restaurant scene and, just to the south of the river, you’ll find the best south Asian cuisine. Residents continue to be spoilt for choice with the wonderful annual celebration of food and local culture at Foodival.

Transport to and from anywhere in Tooting is easy: it has two Tube stations, alongside rail and bus connections, and journey times can be under half an hour into central London.