Coulsdon

Coulsdon has been in London since 1965, which is long enough for the postcode to accept it and nowhere near long enough for the people who still write Surrey on their Christmas cards. It is Croydon's southern full stop, a chalk valley on the North Downs where the borough gives up and the fields take over. In 2006 the town built itself a bypass so the Brighton traffic would stop calling in, and it has enjoyed the peace ever since with the smugness of someone who finally changed their number. Even the local stream only shows up when the water table makes it, which is roughly the level of commitment Coulsdon brings to being London.