The beautiful thing about London is that there is always something new to explore. There are pretty walks just hidden right under your nose, until one day you discover one of them and ask yourself why you didn’t realise one if these best walks in London existed sooner!
I came across the Lady in London’s posts a while ago and found them quite inspiring. Her enthusiasm for the simpler things, such as the brickwork of houses, or the cobbled streets made me look at London in an entirely different way.
Living reasonably close to the city my whole life, I have walked past plenty of these places many times previously and thought nothing of it. But once you start looking at the details in the houses, the differences of the architecture in different parts of London, or the quaint little laneways, you will soon discover so much more!
For my walk in Hampstead followed Lady in London’s guide for a little of it and then went off track a bit, to search for a somewhat ‘secret spot’ in Hampstead. Here’s the first of my ‘Best walks in London’ series…
Starting at Hampstead tube station, one of the first pretty places I came across was Elm Row. With it’s signature red post box built into the wall and the gorgeous weeping willow tree across the laneway, how much more English can you get?!
Carry on through the laneway and you will come out by Hampstead Museum and Burgh House Café (I didn’t go in as I’d only just got going haha, but the café looked very pretty indeed). There is a museum here and an arts and events space, so it may be worth checking out what’s on before your visit to Hampstead.
Next along the walk is Flask Walk, a characteristic ally with pretty houses that eventually leads out onto the high street. Here you will find a pub (of course), a second hand bookshop, a garden shop, clothing store, ice cream place and other quirky independent shops. It is worth having a browse through these interesting finds.
Once on the high street there are many shops and cafes to stop off at for lunch, before continuing down Back Lane, and onto a little lane way called Streatley Place. There is a private ally at the end of this, called Mansfield Place which is so pretty.
| More pretty Walks: Beautiful Walks in England: Rye, Sussex |
The beautiful secret spot in Hampstead…
From here I left the walk and went onto the beautiful Hampstead Hill Garden and Pergola. I heard it was a beautiful secret spot in London, and it didn’t disappoint!
I don’t think many people know about this place, or maybe they do but it was certainly quiet when I visited. It was commissioned by Lord Leverhulme, a wealthy gentleman who made a fortune selling soap. After his death, the place fell apart quite a bit and the City of London has been repairing it since 1989. It is now a wedding venue but the gardens here are free to roam and popular with photographers.
Spring and summer would be best to view the pretty vines, overflowing trees, and beautiful flowers around the entire place. Seriously, this place was so pretty I could not believe it- and so quiet too! It was a reasonably short walk back to Hampstead, where I had a look around some more beautiful houses and streets, such as Admiral’s Walk and Holly Mount (with a popular pub, doesn’t every street have one?!).
I also walked past pretty grounds of Fenton House, which is a museum and National Trust property, with stunning gardens.
So that about sums up my day in Hampstead, the highlight of the day was definitely the pergola so definitely check that out if you’re there. Also if you have time, go for a walk on Hampstead Heath, you can even swim in the outdoor lake in summer!
I hope those of you who are in London right now and out of Lockdown are able to enjoy getting back out a bit on these pretty London walks! Like I say, exploring your own backyard can lead to all kinds of discoveries 🙂
For more pretty walks, have a read of Beautiful Walks in England: Dorchester on Thames
