Golders Hill Park Closing Times, Free Zoo and Entry

The lowdown

Tucked onto the western edge of Hampstead Heath, Golders Hill Park is the polite, manicured cousin of the wild Heath next door, and it is free. The big draw, especially with children, is the little free zoo, where you can wander past fallow deer, donkeys, ring tailed lemurs, kookaburras and a flock of exotic birds without paying a penny.

Beyond the animals there is a beautiful walled flower garden, a water garden with herons, rolling lawns and a bandstand, plus a butterfly house that opens in the warmer months. It has the feel of a proper Victorian pleasure garden, kept up with real care.

Families come for the animals, dog walkers for the lawns and everyone else for the quiet, and none of it costs anything. It is one of north London's most underrated free days out.