Drayton Park, Highbury

Description

Raise the roof

On the edge of metropolitan Islington, Highbury is the smallest, and one of the most exclusive of London’s postcodes. Mature trees, well-tended front gardens and pretty cafes, greengrocers and restaurants cluster around the picture-book beauty of Highbury Fields.

Within earshot of the Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park was built in the nineteen thirties. You’ve all the fun of a period home, but equally, the rooms are generously sized, the décor’s light and cheerful and you won’t be bothered by any creaky floorboards. With lashings of personality and surprisingly generous amounts of outside space, we think that Drayton Park will have you kicking up your heels in delight.

Swing your partners

Your hosts have recently emptied their nest, and are enjoying their newfound freedom! She’s a lawyer, while he’s in financial services. Their main home is in Cambridge, but they rely on Drayton Park as a base for that occasional all-important fix of the London buzz.

Promenade home

The sitting room at Drayton Park overlooks the leafy courtyard below, and if the weather’s clement, make sure you open the doors out onto the balcony. Back inside, you’ll find the main living space cosily neutral in cream and denim blue. The eat-in kitchen’s modern and spacious, with everything you need to fix yourself some food.

When you’ve dined, head next door to the two double bedrooms. The master, with its multiple Marilyn Monroes, looks down over the courtyard below, its snowy en suite full of White Company toiletries. There’s a further pleasant double, with a smart family bathroom across the hall. And, best of all, at the top of Drayton Park, you’ll find a large shared roof garden, with views out across London.

Get in line

You’re around fifteen minutes’ walk from Islington’s Upper Street, one of the city’s top destinations for bars, shops and restaurants; a Saturday night will find this part of town almost as busy as the West End. But first, take a stroll in Highbury Fields, pick up a slice or two of camembert at La Fromagerie, the UK’s foremost cheese shop, or simply sup a pint at one of your many local pubs. If you want to get into town, take the tube, from Arsenal or Highbury and Islington.