Hampstead Heath

Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me follow down to the heath, where we shall walk through some glorious mud.
Ahhh the heath. I have yet to find someone who knows their way around it. The general consensus is that is better to just accept you know the city you are in, if not your exact location and enjoy the view whilst struggling to find your way. So get lost, stumble upon MPs and their illicit lovers, eventually you will find your way back to civilization hopefully with a juicy story to tell the press and pay for the shoes you ruined whilst you were there.
The dogs are friendly, their owners less so.
I don’t care how dry it has been recently, wear waterproof boots and clothes you don’t mind getting muddy. Nothing short of a 2 year drought will dry up the mud on the heath. It’s got a beautiful view over the city if you walk between West Hampstead and Gospel Oak, but remember to look where you are going, that path has a habit of falling into deep potholes, a way to trip up tourists and shake their money loose I suspect. Always worth getting lost on, and when it rains there are a number of cafes to provide some shelter, just make sure you take cash.

Impresionante parque en la zona norte de Londres. Desde Parliament Hill se tienen vistas maravillosas de la ciudad y el parque se extiende bastante entre caminos, césped y árboles.
Pero lo que quizás más destaca son los tres estanques aptos para el baño (uno mixto, uno sólo para hombres, uno sólo para mujeres) que encontramos en el parque!

We came here because it was mentioned in a book we read, «The curious incident of a dog in the nightime.» It rained this morning so it was a bit muddy and its not far from Hampstead heath station. The walk was lovely. Its hilly and a great place to see part of London City with panoramic views. A lotof dog owners bring their babies here to socialize and mingle with other dogs, which I enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching them play. It made me miss my own babies. Its great for a jog, for a bike ride, and just to enjoy the outdoors. Its near winter so it was very windy. Pick a bench and sit, and people and dog watch. :)

Seven days ago, we spent several hours walking all around Golders Hill Park (see my separate review), the West Heath and Hampstead Heath. It was all lovely, but the absolute highlight was Parliament Hill at Hampstead Heath. The view is really nice from that high vantage point and it’s well worth the long walk. Also, the surrounding neighborhood is one of my very favorites in London.

Perdu dans des bois gigantesque ou presque, tel a été la sensation submergeante qu’a produit le début de notre irruption dans l’immensité du Hampstead Heath.
Courageusement, après avoir quitté le métro et grimpé une bonne côte, Nous sommes entré par la Vale of Heath pour descendre complètement à l’opposé, en direction de Highgate Road, autrement dit un itinéraire conséquent sur les 320 hectares total présent.
Ce doit être un coin où il fait bon déambuler durant l’automne lorsque tout ces arbres sont amenés à perdre leurs feuillages. Lorsqu’il fait beau, les gens peuvent même s’y baigner. Trois étangs permettent de s’y donner libre cours, à certaines saisons bien entendu.
Au sommet de la Parliament Hill, la récompense de l’excursion est la grande vue, surement l’une des plus lointaines et larges qui soit, sur la city.

Probably the best park in London! Especially on a sunny day.
There’s so much to do in at Hampstead Heath. There is ponds that you can swin in, picnic areas and even walks to explore.
Wonderfully, you can also see over London (so no reason to pay ridiculous amounts of money to go to the tourist spots). The park is also extremely close to so many transport options!
I took my puppy, Roxy, to check out running areas along with new dog friends. Roxy also found a wonderful place to practice her doggy paddling.
Not matter if you’re new to London, a veteran or a local — Hampstead Heath is the greatest park ever! :-)

Having lived near the Heath for over a year, I have many lovely memories attached to it. Sandy Heath on the northern side is where I tend to go, as it tends to be most quiet and peaceful.

A beautiful park with awesome views of London! Being a tourist, I didn’t realize there was a huge park with woods, swimming areas, and walking trails. This is definitely a spot I would spend more time at if I lived here, or had a longer visit in the city.

Lovely day out in the sun! I really love this park as it is big and have many aspects to it. You can go swimming or admire the views of London. There is places to take a break and others to be active!
Something for everyone; definitely a place to go back to over and over!

Beautiful views even in the pouring rain and Kenwood House is a great place to stop off for tea.

I absolutely love Hampstead Heath. Hampstead Heath has changed my life because it provides an outlet for my German Shorthaired Pointer to run his little heart out along woodsy trails, to drink stagnant pond water and to chase squirrels. All while I run along woodsy trails, watch my dog love life, and not have to worry about him getting hit by a car or finding discarded food to eat.
An unexercised Pointer is an unhappy Pointer and an unhappy Pointer is an unhappy household. Having recently moved to Islington, I was having great difficulty finding a proper sized park not littered with food. After a week of going to various neighborhood parks at various times (trying to find that sweet spot before idiots have laid out bread for the pigeons), I was at my wits end. I turned to my friend Internet and asked him where the best park is in North London for dog walking and he said Hampstead Heath and, once again, Internet was right!
The park is massive (slightly bigger than Central Park in NYC) and there is a little bit of everything for everyone. It’s easy to get lost, so be sure to bring a GPS enabled device. I’ve been to Hampstead Heath an hour a day everyday for a week now and I haven’t even scraped the surface of this vast place, which is fine. I know where to go to avoid picnic’ers and people in general.
Having lived in the Windsor area for two years a few years ago, I can say that Hampstead Heath really does feel like the countryside. I’m always amazed at how much green space there is in London and Hampstead Heath is one of the best green spaces around and it’s super easy to get to via the London Overground — an entrance to the park is literally across the road from the Hampstead Heath overground station.
Other miscellaneous plusses:
–ponds for dogs to drink water
–water fountains for both people and dogs (there is a built-​in dog bowl which collects the drained water from the water fountain)
–free toilets
–plenty of bins for dog poo
–friendly people because people enjoy being at the Heath and when people enjoy an activity, they are happy!
I’d award 10 stars if I could!

Hampstead Heath is a great place for a walk, somewhere to get away from city life for a couple of hours. I am originally from the countryside and walking in the heath you really wouldn’t know you were in London, it looks exactly like the woods and parks back home. The only give away is the HUGE number of people that walk there. Although that is not totally unpleasant. I highly recommend it as a day out, especially coupled to a walk through Hamstead and a look at all the beautiful houses!

This place always feels huge to me and as if I will always get lost. Somehow I never do. Good to get to Parliament Hill and to the café at Kenwood House. I’m not doing the swimming though!

A real treasure within London where people can go for some space and natural surroundings.

Piece of countryside not so far from the city center with unique views from the hills toward the skyscrapers in The City.

We walked from the top to the bottom of Hampstead Heath and wow, what a place! It is the absolute perfect place to spend a warm summer evening in London. There are lots of ponds to laze around, a separate men and women’s bathing pond (is it really necessary to keep genders separate these days?!) and plenty of grass to lie in, throw a ball around or read a book. While we were there a lovely children’s festival was in full swing, a live band was going for it in the rotunda and bikes pulling full sound systems were parked up through the park creating a really great atmosphere. I really recommend taking a picnic and taking in this beautiful place, it’s really a peaceful green haven in the middle of a big city.

Beautiful and vast park. Truly an oasis from the chaos of London. Apparently there are great places to swim here which I never used.
Wonderful hiking trails with amazing vistas of the London skyline in the horizon.
Horseback riding goes on here too.

What a beautiful park! Once you get a few minutes into it, it feels like a forest, not like you’re in the middle of a city. I especially enjoyed the calm ponds and hills with views of the city on the east side of the park. Lovely place to be as the sun is setting.

I cannot rave enough about this place. I could spend everyday here, rain or shine. I try to visit weekly, and every time I do I find myself falling in love a little bit more. There is so much to be explored; hundreds of trails and paths to wander. There are plenty of spaces to sprawl out with a blanket and eat lunch, read a book, have a picnic, or just doze off for a bit. It reminds me of something out of a Winnie the Pooh storybook… Like the Hundred Acre Woods. Have yet to run into any heffalumps or woozles though.
Being here, I feel more at home… At ease, relaxed and content. It’s a wonderfully refreshing and much needed getaway only a couple miles north of the bustling city center. You can breathe, hear nothing but birds, and completely lose track of time just wandering and soaking in the beauty.
I recommend a trip to the Heath to visitors and London locals alike! No doubt you will have one of the most enjoyable days spent here.
Oh, and make sure to stop by the ice cream truck and get a clotted cream ice cream cone after your lovely hike! Major yum.

Superbe découverte que ce petit coin de nature au nord de Londres on peu s’y balader autour de petits lacs. Adresse très prisée pour y piqué niquer et paraît il que l’on peut s’y baigner l’été alors j’y retournerais pour voir cela

Everyone should visit Hampstead Heath. It is one of the most beautiful parks in London and has so much room for exploring. You can choose a variety of paths that take you on different walks. You feel like you are transported far away to the countryside. This is a lovely place to come for a picnic– you can always find an area that is quiet and relaxing. You can also take a nice hike up to Kenwood House which is a beautiful estate to visit. They also have a lovely café up there where you can get warm food and an assortment of cakes. There is also an ice cream station up there. Really lovely park and relaxing place to visit.

This is London’s Griffith Park.
It’s treesy, lakey and grassy. It’s out-​of-​the-​way North so there are lots of things to do for the people who like to get lost type. Paths and benches, nature, fine.
After eight months in the beginning of May, England finally reached 20 (60s fahrenheit) and everyone ran outside half-​naked, desperate to soak in local colour. A warm British sun is not toxic burning orange but kind of cool peach. A warm day here is like somewhat ripe fruit.
What else about this: you can go swimming here, biking is heavily restricted here but there are paths. No barclays bike stations up here nor bike hires. Soon, I hope? Boo.

How have I not reviewed Hampstead Heath by now? Amazing place.
A little forest escape in this big ol city. You come out of the overground station and woop there it is.
Go get lost… in the nicest use of the phrase.

Ersteigt man weit im Norden von London Hamstead Heath, wird der Spaziergänger durch eine wunderbare Aussicht über die Stadt belohnt. Vorgestern lag die City of London mit ihren Hochhäusern in etwa 5 Meilen Entfernung im milden Licht der Abendsonne. Dort unten wirken die Banker, die manchmal auch, wie unlängst im Roman CAPITAL von John Lanchester so nett beschrieben, einen ruinös niedrigen Bonus erhalten mögen.
Aber hier draussen in der Ruhe der Natur und des Hügels mit ein paar tiefer gelegen Teichen ist das alles weit in der Ferne. Hier schieben junge Mütter ihre Babies im Kinderwagen erwartungsvoll in die Zukunft und Jogger ziehen unter dem Kopfhörer ihre einsamen Kreise.

Einer der größeren Parks in London. Zum Sommer und in den Mittagspausen ist es stellenweise recht voll und damit auch laut, aber man sollte immer eine Stelle finden, an die man ausweichen kann.