Tag: Hampstead Heath
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Hampstead Heath Seeks Volunteer Shepherds as Sheep Return to the Heath
A small flock of five sheep is returning to Hampstead Heath from 29 May to 8 June, and volunteers are being sought to help look after them while they graze on the Heath Extension.
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When Hampstead Heath Held a Ski Jumping Competition
London has many things—domes, towers, hidden rivers—but it does not have mountains. Or a ski jump. And yet, in March 1950, it tried to manufacture both.
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Highgate: London’s Hilltop Village
Highgate doesn’t feel like it belongs to London so much as it perches above it, watching. Climb north from the churn of Camden or Archway and something shifts—air thins, traffic loosens its grip, and the city starts to look like a rumour you once believed in. This is a place of slopes and secrets, where…
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London’s Wild Parakeets: Debunking Myths and Uncovering Their True Origins
London’s skyline, once dominated by pigeons and starlings, has been brightened in recent decades by flashes of emerald green and the raucous squawks of parakeets. These birds—specifically, rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri)—are not native to Britain, yet they have thrived in the capital’s parks and gardens, forming a sizeable wild population. But how did they get…
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Hampstead Pergola: London’s Forgotten Edwardian Daydream
Tucked away in the verdant folds of Hampstead Heath, lies one of London’s most spellbinding secrets: the Hampstead Hill Garden and Pergola. A hidden treasure of Hampstead – it’s part garden, part ruin, part romantic hallucination—and entirely free to visit. The Soap Lord and the Spoil Let’s rewind to 1904. William Hesketh Lever—later Lord Leverhulme—was…
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Wild Swimming Spots in London
If you listen closely on any grey morning in London, you might just hear it: the faint, triumphant gasp of someone plunging into water they probably shouldn’t be in. Yes, wild swimming has wormed its way into the hearts (and goosebumped bodies) of city dwellers who are fed up with spin classes, scented candles, and…
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Hampstead Heath: The Wild Soul of London
Forget your manicured rose beds and polite, symmetrical hedges of Central London Parks Hampstead Heath is where London throws off its corset and runs barefoot into the woods. 800 acres of ungovernable green with spectacular views of the city. Not a park, not quite a forest—more like a beautiful act of municipal defiance. Here, the trees…
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A Quick Guide to Belsize Park
Tucked neatly between the grand mansions of Hampstead and the buzzing creative sprawl of Camden, Belsize Park is that rare London neighbourhood that manages to be both refined and relaxed, affluent but not (always) ostentatious. If you’ve ever dreamt of a place where you can sip an oat milk flat white in a cafe where…
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Fleeced in the City: The History of Sheep Grazing in London’s Parks
Picture the scene: a misty morning in Hyde Park, the distant clatter of horse-drawn carriages, and a flock of sheep serenely nibbling away at the grass. No, this isn’t the latest pastoral-themed art installation or an ambitious promotional stunt for artisanal wool—it’s a glimpse into London’s past, when sheep grazing in the city’s parks was…
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Wild Swimming in Hampstead: A Dip Into London’s Coolest Secret
Hidden away in the leafy haven of Hampstead Heath, there’s a secret that Londoners in the know have been enjoying for centuries: the joy of wild swimming. Welcome to Hampstead Ponds and the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond, London’s very own urban oases where you can plunge into the great outdoors, swim with ducks, and experience nature in the middle…