How To Get To Hampstead Heath And The Pleasures It Affords

Date post added: 5th June 2024

Where is Hampstead Heath?

Hampstead is a North London district (NW3), situated between Highgate to the east, Kentish Town to the south east and Belsize Park to the south. It stands proudly on the Northern Heights, making it a wonderful viewing platform from which to survey the City of London and out to Greater London.

Hampstead Heath is one of London’s biggest open air, green spaces. Despite it being a leafy suburb with a village-like feel, Central London is in very easy reach – around 15 minutes by tube.

All by itself Hampstead Heath is 10% bigger than Central Park in New York. Yet it only counts for 2% of London’s public green. London’s the greenest major city on the planet, which is a big reason why it’s the most liveable major city on the planet. Hampstead Heath makes a huge contribution to that all-important liveability factor. It’s a huge tract of countryside very near the centre of one of the greatest cities on earth. There’s no other city in the world that’s got anything like it. It’s possible to get lost on the Heath. Do so and the sensation is uncanny. You’re aware that you’re in the middle of one of the great cities of the world, but it feels like you’re lost in the countryside.

How to get to Hampstead Heath

Public transport will deliver you to various areas of the heath. Take your pick depending on your plan for the day. It’s generally well signposted so you should find it pretty easy to navigate (you can always turn to Citymapper for assistance though).

By train

Travelling by overground, you have the choice of Hampstead Heath and Gospel Oak rail stations.

Hampstead Heath station is located at the Heath’s south west corner. It’s close to Keats House on Keats Grove and Hampstead Ponds via South End Road.

Gospel Oak train station is to the south east of the Heath,, along Gordon House Road. Alight at this station for Parliament Hill, the lido and Highgate Ponds, as well as kids’ attractions like the adventure playground and paddling pool.

By tube

There are several tube stations on the Northern Line that service this area – Hampstead, Golders Green, Belsize Park, and also Tufnell Park. Remember to take the Edgware bound branch line, rather than High Barnet, as the line splits at Camden Town.

Hampstead tube station is in the south west corner of the Heath. It’s well placed for Burgh House, the Vale of Health, East Heath and Hampstead Ponds in particular, via Well Walk. Take Heath Street for West Heath.

Belsize Park is to the south, providing another option to access this area of the heath.

Golders Green tube station can be found to the north west of the Heath. From North End Road, you’ll find Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath Extension and Golders Hill Park.

Tufnell Park tube station is to the east of the Heath, within easy reach of Highgate Ponds or the lido.

By bus

There are several bus routes that service the Hampstead area. The 268, 168, 210 and C11 are the main ones to look out for.

The City of London map of Hampstead Heath is really helpful and details public transport stops and the key sights in the area.

What to see and do around Hampstead Heath

First and foremost, you absolutely must visit the green spaces. You’ll find ancient woodlands, vast open space in which to exercise, picnic and play; plus historic houses, playgrounds, swimming pools and even a model boating pond. There’s so much to explore and enjoy.

Hampstead Heath’s been a destination for day-trippers escaping the grime of central London since Georgian times. And who wouldn’t swap the city congestion for the open sky of Hampstead?

Take a dip

Highgate Ponds (eight former reservoirs) and Hampstead swimming ponds are the spots for wild, exhilarating outdoor dips. For a less wild, but still outdoor swim, head to the Parliament Hill lido – a glorious swimming pool in the south east corner of the Heath. The bathing ponds have grown in popularity in recent years, attracting the brave and the (fool)hardy wanting the cold water swimming buzz.

Take in the views

The Heath’s elevated position makes it a wonderful vantage point for panoramic views of London, and even down to Kent on clear days. Parliament Hill is a lovely open air viewing platform from which to look down to the City, Westminster and beyond. But the Tumulus and the Pergola are also great spots with views.

Enjoy the green space

There are some exceptionally lovely spots on West Heath. Visit The Hill Garden and Pergola – a beautiful Georgian arbour and terrace – and stop to admire its beauty. The nearby water garden is also worth a look. And as for the Sandy Heath, it may well be the most exotic, the most unusual, the most extraordinary stretch of countryside – stippled with all those pocket-sized ponds and huge old characterful trees that are like anchorites – in south east England.

Get close to nature

You can do things on Hampstead Heath that shouldn’t be possible in the middle of a huge city. Berrying, for example.

One of great joys of Hampstead Heath is the full-throated chorus of bird song that you always hear. No ifs or buts about it. You walk onto the Heath you’re going to hear birdsong and it does you a power of good.

Get active

Obviously, you can take wonderful walks around the Heath. But there’s also an athletics track, tennis courts, football, rugby and cricket pitches as well as an outdoor gym, run by the City of London Corporation.

It’s a photographer’s paradise

All that green, those ponds, those ‘big picture’ vantage points, gnarled old trees, Londoners in a reverie. It’s a truly special place to capture incredible snaps.

Stop for a drink

The Holly Bush pub (just off Holly Bush Hill) is a welcoming, traditional 18th century Georgian inn that’s worth taking time to visit.

The Spaniards Inn dates back to 1585. The Grade II listed London pub is said to have fuelled Charles Dickens’s and John Keats’ writing, so its walls have heard plenty of stories.

The Flask pub, on Flask Walk near Hampstead tube station, is a great place for a bite to eat.

Then there’s the Freemason’s Arms on Downshire Hill, a stone’s throw from East Heath Road and just across from the East Heath Children’s Play Area and the very fine Hampstead Heath ponds, one of them a serenity of swans. Downshire Hill leads down to the Heath from Rosslyn Hill (the main street that runs into Hampstead High Street.) For the record, 75 years ago a national newspaper crowned Downshire Hill the most beautiful street in the United Kingdom. A platonic ideal of a handsome old pub, the Freemason’s Arm rejoices in an extremely rare skittles alley (still in use) in its cellar.

Other eateries and not to be missed drinks in Hampstead is found here.

Discover its history

There’s a wealth of fascinating history in this area. Written records dating back to 986AD mention Hemstede (Hampstead) in Ethelred the Unready’s time. There’s also evidence of its existence in the Mesolithic era.

Kenwood House is an English Heritage stately home situated within Hampstead Heath. It regularly hosts incredible concerts and events. You may recognise it from Notting Hill, as Julia Roberts’ character Anna was filming there.

Burgh House, to the south of the heath, is a historic, Queen Anne listed home. It incorporates Hampstead Museum and holds interesting art and history exhibitions.

Hampstead has attracted cultural and historic notable British and international figures for centuries. Some of those linked to the area include Karl Marx, John Keats, John Constable, Daphne du Maurier, JM Barrie, Dame Judi Dench, H.G. Wells, John Le Carre, Ian Fleming, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O’Toole, Charles de Gaulle, George Orwell, Sigmund Freud, Florence Nightingale… we could continue. It’s a roll call of the distinguished and famous that goes on and on.

Explore Hampstead Heath with us

If you want to discover the area and its stories, there’s no better way than taking a London Walks guided tour.

David, our London Walks maestro may be biased, but he names Hampstead as his number one place in the United Kingdom. There’s little he doesn’t know about the area, so his Hampstead walking tour is a firm favourite.

We also have another article on things to do in the Hampstead area, if you’re looking for more suggestions to fill your day in the area!