This neighbourhood is a well concealed outpost which emerged in its current form in the years after WWII, and is probably one of the closest representations of utopian suburbia the borough has to offer. With detached houses built in the classic red-brick fashion, a good dose of exposed timber and bay windows all-round, one gets an impression of a kind of European Pleasantville. In the North, Coldblow centre is home to some impressive modernist architecture. Old Bexley Lane is now part of Kent and leads to Dartford Heath, a beautifully snug hideout made up of mostly terraced homes and a few newer estates. Joydens Wood is another well-to-do settlement where bungalows feature prominently and whose name derives from the 325-acre woodland by which it is located. Running through the woods are three circular walks and nine different ponds. Being thus situated among the greenery, together with being within walking distance from Bexley High Street, allows for a peaceful and wholesome lifestyle – away from it all yet also merely a half hour away London Bridge station by train.

The Bexley borough began to emerge as an affluent London outskirt towards the end of the 19th century. Naturally, the setting of an ancient woodland caught the interest of developers looking to erect some impressive semi-rural homes. In fact, the area came to be something of a hipster hang-out, with the latest architectural trends being exhibited along Hill Crescent where a couple of modernist houses still stand. Prior to this, however, only archeological remains of Saxon and medieval settlements tell the story of this area. Notably, Faesten Dic, is a 1,500-year-old boundary which runs through Joydens Wood and is attributable to some early Saxon natives. Half a millennium onwards, a medieval construction, which may be the Manor of Ocholt, belonging to the nearby Lesnes Abbey (ruins worth visiting in Abbey Wood, not too far from this area) would have been built, the remains of which were dug up in 1957.

Perhaps unexpectedly, given the quiet and comfortable environment which Coldblow presents, a mansion which once belonged to the late Dorothy Squires stood in the surrounding neighbourhoods. The Welsh singer, whose career and popularity followed a volatile trajectory, would meet her second husband, Roger Moore, at one of her extravagant parties here. At the time, Moore was but an aspiring actor and Squire took him under her wing – to Hollywood. It was here that intrigue and complications would render the relationship jealous, violent and mired in court cases and would eventually bring Squires back to Bexley until her mansion burnt down in 1974.

There are three newts (aquatic salamanders) which are classified as ‘British’. It is perhaps a rare occurrence then that each of the nine ponds found in Joydens Wood is home to all three of these newt species.

The one sole reminder of the fact that one is not in utopian suburbia, close as it might be to that reality, is the hum of the nearby A2 dual carriageway leading to Rochester. The Dartford bypass sits within Dartford Heath and may therefore prove to be an inconvenience for those situated close by. But the diverse scenery and abundance of nature and woodland surely acts as a hideaway and distraction from the noisy motorway.

By virtue of being so well-disguised, there are few developments projected directly within the area or even in nearby Bexley Village. That said, new plans for the regeneration and enhancement of nearby Bexleyheath and its town centre could have an impact on the area. In early 2017, Bexley Council drafted a growth strategy for the borough that envisioned Bexleyheath as the borough’s strategic shopping and civic centre and ‘the hub of its bus network, enabling a thriving and diverse daytime and night-time economy.’ Bexleyheath is envisaged to profit from over 1,500 new homes and 1,500 new jobs. The Growth Strategy also hada greatly ambitious set of objectives for the borough, including the development of 31,500 new homes, which would make it the largest building programme since the 1930s, and the creation of 17,500 new jobs.