This commuter-friendly residential suburb is part of the affluent western borough of Richmond, located between Whitton, Hanworth, and Twickenham. Many of the large homes that occupy the leafy streets are interwar gardened semis, accessible from Whitton station and the numerous bus routes that pass through the area, as well as from the Chertsey Road dual carriageway, which links to the A316. This green neighbourhood is dominated by the 30-hectare Crane Park, a public open space that is part of the Crane Corridor Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, which includes two nature reserves – Crane Park Island and Pevensey Road. The park has large swathes of woodland and a river bank, which has encouraged frogs and water vole, and help maintain residents’ pride in the local area. While the immediate neighbourhood isn’t particularly convenient for shopping or for evening entertainment, nearby Whitton has plenty of local amenities, and Twickenham town centre isn’t far away by bus.

Crane Park sits on the site of what was once the notorious Hounslow Gunpowder Mills. Mills have been located on the banks of the River Crane since 1066, producing swords, oil and flour, but the gunpowder works opened in the late 1760s. The Crane Park Island reserve was built originally as a mill pond which provided water to drive the machinery, with what is known as The Shot Tower used as a mill to recirculate water to power the wheels. The tower, built in 1828, was also used as a watch tower to warn workers of fire hazards following a number of frequent explosions. The works’ licence to manufacture gunpowder was withdrawn in 1927 and the site was sold to the Twickenham Council. They turned the area into Crane Park, which opened to the public in 1935.

Twickenham Cemetery is home to a unique memorial and gardens to Variety Artistes who lived from the 19th to 20th centuries, and includes the names of a number of local music hall and stage performers. The memorial is run by ‘The Variety Artistes’ Benevolent Fund and Institution’, Brinsworth House, Staines Road, and the Royal Variety Charity.

While Whitton station does provide four trains per hour into London Waterloo, South Western Railway lines are notoriously unreliable and often delayed, causing frustration for those who commute. Its Zone 5 location also means that travel costs can really add up, particularly if commuting at peak times.

The planned redevelopment of the Twickenham Riverside to the north of to the east of the neighbourhood, is set to revamp the underappreciated part of the town. While the site has seen a number of redevelopment initiatives get scrapped in the past, such as proposals by Francis Terry in conjunction with Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher, and earlier Terry scheme, Hopkins Architects’ proposal for the site regeneration has been approved and plans for its initiations are in the pipeline. That said, the project has gained some controversy from local groups. The Twickenham Riverside Trust, a local residents group that also holds a leasehold over part of the land, announced in late 2021 its decision to oppose the scheme rather than proactively engage with the authority on the redevelopment’s latest incarnation. This decision was prompted by the group believing that compensation the Council proposed for the redevelopment of Diamond Jubilee Gardens, included in their leasehold, was inadequate. The group is seeking to have the gardens removed from the Council’s brownfield register but a final decision on the matter has not been announced. Other locals have also begun protesting against the project’s on nearby Eel Pie Island and its accessibility, which is currently reached by bridge. The Council assures that accessibility will remain excellent but residents disagree. As of now, the project’s initiation is still uncertain.