Hampstead

Hampstead is one of London’s most beautiful residential areas. Situated high up on a hill and surrounded by woodland and parks it gives its residents all the convenience of living in a big city while at the same time having the feel of a small country village.

Its large old houses attract many famous and wealthy residents, including sports and film stars, while its traditional literary heritage means that it has been home to many of Britain’s best known authors, artists and playwrights.

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead is most famous for Hampstead Heath, London’s largest area of parkland, and attracts 1000s of Londoners who go to make use of the 25 ponds, rambling hills and ancient woodland.

Its centrepiece is Parliament Hill, a huge hill from which it is possible to see views across the whole of London and all of its best landmark buildings including Canary Wharf, St. Pauls Cathedral, the Gherkin and the London Eye. It is also a very popular area with kite flyers, so on a breezy day expect to see them up there in the hundreds.

The ponds are a mixture of nature reserves, boating lakes and three public swimming pools; one for men one for women and another for both sexes. They are open all year round and even attract a hardy group of swimmers who bathe every morning of the year regardless of the temperature!

The area is pretty vast, you can visit Hampstead Heath regularly and still stumble upon whole new parts that you haven’t yet discovered, and the changes throughout the seasons provide dramatic contrasts, such as the abundance of summer and the bleak beauty of the dark winter months, or the rich golden colours of autumn compared to the snow white blossoms of spring.

Kenwood House

Located in the northern corner of Hampstead Heath is Kenwood House, the old stately home of the Earl of Mansfield, a man who played an important role leading up to Britain’s abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

The house, which is open to the public, is situated in beautiful stately gardens and sits high on a hill overlooking a lake with a bandstand at the far end. In the summer crowds flock to Kenwood for a series of classical music concerts and firework displays, many of which are broadcast live on BBC Radio.

In total Kenwood House receives about 1 million visitors a year to its grounds, making it one of the most popular destinations for Londoners looking for a bit of outdoor entertainment. The cafe at Kenwood, known as The Orangery, provides an excellent destination for a hot cup of soup or tea after a long bracing walk across the vast parklands of Hampstead Heath.

This is easily one of London’s nicest places to visit, but don’t get to like it too much, it is also one of the most expensive places to rent or buy property anywhere in the world. There are parts of Hampstead where houses regularly sell for over £20 million, and in nearby Bishops Avenue a huge and rather tasteless golden mansion was recently sold to some oil billionaires for over £50 million.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that Hampstead is only for the rich, it will always be a favourite destination for Londoners of all persuasions and remains the capitals very own back garden.

John Hillman