Orpington Area guide

The High Street and adjacent Walnuts Shopping Centre contain a wide variety of high-street shops. There is a general market three days a week in front of Orpington College. There are several restaurants in the town centre. Orpington has excellent public transport access, including a busy train station and high frequency bus routes run between the town centre and the residential suburbs. There are 'big box' retail outlets in St. Mary Cray, including the new Nugent Shopping Park.

Orpington railway station is a transport hub served by Southeastern with trains to Central London stations Charing Cross and Cannon Street via Grove Park, as well as Victoria via Bromley South and Herne Hill. Outside Greater London, services call at Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

The M25 ring-road around London passes Orpington to the South of the town and three A roads, the A208, A224 and A232 pass through the area. Additionally the A21 passes along the town's southern border.

Settlements in Orpington can be traced back to the Stone Age, with several tools from that era found in the town. Until the railway came, Orpington was just a small country village surrounded by soft fruit farms, hop fields and orchards.

There is a very diverse mix of property in Orpington, ranging from starter homes through to substantial detached mansions set within private parks, such as Chelsfield Park, Keston Park and Farnborough Park. History lovers will find a good deal of Victorian and period properties too.