London is truly an enormous city. We are beginning to understand this even better now that we’ve been here almost a year. But despite its size and history as an industrial city, London has tons of green space with so much to explore. Hampstead Heath, one of those aforementioned green spaces located in the north of London, seemed the perfect place to check out on a sunny Sunday a few weeks ago.
With Citymapper directions in hand and my camera bag on my shoulder, we hopped a bus out to Camden and would continue onto Hampstead Heath on foot.
We are lucky to live close to Holland Park and Hyde Park, and we have visited them many times. Hampstead Heath has a totally different vibe.
Instead of manicured gardens and perfect lawns, Hampstead Heath has sprawling hills, grassy fields and a fair number of felled trees.
There is something that is much more organic about it.
It also had an adorable neighbourhood feel to it, especially when we passed by the bathing pond and saw a bunch of swimmers enjoying a summer day!
The highlight of Hampstead Heath is the beautiful view over London from Parliament Hill. On a sunny summer Sunday, this area was fairly crowded, but it was easy to find a spot to enjoy a picnic with a view.
We didn’t think of bringing a picnic, so we just took in the views!
The park even provides help in identifying where to see certain famous buildings along the skyline. It was helpful, but we couldn’t find Big Ben!
After taking in the view, we made our way the long way around the park and up to Kenwood House.
It was beautiful – like something out of a movie. We didn’t go in because we were nearing ever closer to the Spaniard’s Inn!
This pub is famous for being one of the oldest in London and for appearing in Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers. It totally looks out of place and from another time – the road even narrows down to one lane to get around it! It is quaint and charming as pubs get though!
The garden was the only spot we could find a seat and so we ate our roasts in the sunshine, making the most of the London summer. After all that walking, a pint of cider was just the treat!
Jenn is an American expat living in London, spending her time freelancing, traveling and writing on this here blog. Thank you for reading. Are you planning a trip here? Tell me your plans in the comments!
