london's wild back garden
London's wild back garden. Eight hundred acres of woods and meadow, a protected skyline view from Parliament Hill, swimming ponds and a free stately home in the trees.
Free to visit · Hampstead · Hampstead · NW3 1BP
Opening: Always open
Most London parks are manicured. The Heath is not. It is eight hundred acres of genuine wild, woods, ponds, meadow and hedgerow, that feel less like a park and more like a slab of countryside that London grew around. You can properly get lost in it, which is the whole appeal.
Climb Parliament Hill at the south end for the payoff. The view across the entire city is protected by law, so the Shard, the City cluster and St Paul's lay themselves out in front of you and nobody can ever build it away. It is a free rival to any paid viewing platform in town and a local favourite for sunset.
The swimming ponds are the other legend. Three of them, men's, women's and mixed, open year round to proper cold-water swimmers for a small honesty-box fee. And tucked in the trees at the north edge is Kenwood House, a free stately home with Rembrandts and a Vermeer on the walls and not a penny to get in.
Getting there: Hampstead on the Northern line for the village end, or Gospel Oak and Hampstead Heath on the Overground for Parliament Hill and the ponds.
Best time to go: A clear evening for the Parliament Hill sunset, or early morning for the ponds and the quiet woods before the dog walkers arrive.
Insider tip: Walk through the Heath to Kenwood House at the north end. The free art collection inside includes a Rembrandt self-portrait and a Vermeer, the cafe spills into a walled garden, and the crowds who pile onto Parliament Hill rarely make it this far.
Official site: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide