Streatham Twinned With Meribel
Now at first glance this may seem an odd choice! If you have to choose a Londonish location, why not choose some where like Hemel Hempstead, at least they have a ski slope. Well that is where you are wrong. Google Streatham piste map and you will find that they too have a ski area. It can be found on the famous Streatham Common. The nearest station is Streatham Common, where trains pass through to Gatwick. So almost like going to catch a plane!
Unlike Meribel the Streatham ski area is probably only open once or twice a year. You can tell when it is open as the rest of London will come to a standstill. Streatham boasts about 2km of trails compared to the 600km of piste that the Three Valleys boasts. The full area of Courchevel, Val Thorens and Meribel have a combined total of 180 lifts, Streatham has none. Unless you count the 249 and the 417 bus routes that runs up the side of the common.
If you are a regular visitor to Meribel then you will have enjoyed the wonderful mountain restaurants that the area has to offer, just check out this guide to gourmet food in the Trois Vallee. The Streatham ski area also has one mountain side restaurant. It is called the Rookery café and if you are a fan of budget all-day breakfasts, instant coffee, and tuna sandwiches then this is a great place for you to visit after a hard day putting in several turns then waiting for a bus. They will probably even microwave you a bottle of Blossom Hill.
When Albertville hosted the Winter Olympics back in the 90’s, Meribel played its part by hosting the Ice Hockey tournament. Team GB didn’t enter a team for this event but if it did you can bet your left ski boot innersole that they would have trained in Streatham. It has one of the UK’s most iconic rinks and other than crime, is the second thing that people associate with Streatham.
Nightlife is a huge part of Meribel’s culture, from Après at the Ronnie, meeting up in Jacks and late nights in Dicks. Streatham also has an exciting array of nightlife. At the bottom of the slopes you will find a selection of pubs to Après in and it has a great late nightclub called the Hideaway. Sadly none of these have had the foresight to install ski racks and leaving your beloved snowboard outside is not something we would recommend.
