Monday, March 10, 2008

Hampstead Heath - London

Hampstead Heath is 3 sq miles of woodland, grassland, ponds and hills bordered by Hampstead village on the west, Highgate to the north and Gospel Oak in the south.

Most of it is in the London Borough of Camden but it’s administered by the Corporation of London.

Entering the Heath from Hampstead village it seems more like natural countryside than some of the big London parks. There are a lot of trails through densely wooden, fairly dark areas and though some of the paths are man-made, they’re quite stony and uneven.


There are many people jogging around the Heath but the western side makes running a bit more of a trail run and at this time of the year the falling leaves and damp ground mean you need to watch your step.

Hampstead Heath is famous for its views over London and Parliament Hill is one of the highest points in London. You can get a good view of London taking in the Post Office Tower and London Eye, the area around St Paul’s, on along to Canary Wharf and up into Islington, you get a great view of the Emirates Stadium. This is the place where you need a wide angle lens.

Besides joggers the Heath is very popular with dog walkers and family’s with young children, not surprising as its surrounded on all sides by expensive houses. At the bottom of Parliament Hill is the Parliament Hill Fields Atheltic Track, a modern running track and a little way on from that a bandstand, cafeteria, tennis courts and bowling green. Details on all the sports available can be downloaded from the City of London website.

Hampstead Heath has around 10 ponds spread around it, some for swimming or fishing in. The majority are on the eastern side of the Heath following the line of Millfield Lane. There are three ponds where swimming is allowed, one for males only, one for females only and one mixed. I can’t see what the difference makes having separate ponds when the rest of the world is free to watch.

If you carry on walking along by the ponds on the eastern part of the Heath eventually the track will lead through a low fenced area, this is into the grounds of Kenwood House and if you’re visiting Hampstead Heath make sure you go and have a look at Kenwood House.

It’s set in a beautiful spot on top of a slope on the north side of the Heath. Kenwood House and its grounds are looked after by English Heritage rather than the Corporation of London and the landscape is a bit more manicured. There’s a lake at the bottom of the slope and a large grassy area running up to the house which was built in 1764.

It was left to the nation by Edward Guinness of the brewing family on his death in 1927 and contains his collection of Old Master paintings including ones by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough. The House has a stunning looking libary.

It’s free to enter and is open 11am-5pm summer, 11am-4pm winter. On the right hand side of the house is a large courtyard eating area with plenty of tables and the Brew House Cafe which is open all year and serves breakfast.

Follow the path with the avenue of trees from the house and on the left you’ll see a large two piece sculpture by Henry Moore, not really sure what it is or what its meant to be saying but its a feature.

Kenwood House is definitely worth going to even if you don’t go in, its very nice walk around that part of Hampstaed Heath.

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