sign in sign up
<<
Home , Hampstead, Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House, Spaniards Inn

Hampstead Heath Trails 1 Parliament Hill Highgateand the Tumulus

Ponds M

i l l f ie ld L a n Trail e Dartmo 95m 17 s Park d Tumulus

3 18 Parliament Hill Fields 2

Dukes 4 Stone of Free Field 8 Parliament Hill Speech (Kite Hill) 5 98m 9 Bandstand 1 P Ponds

The trail starts here at the Heath. The ‘Saxon Ditch’ 1 the Parliament Hill Café. has been here since at least AD Follow the trail towards 986. Ancient trees and stones the chain of ponds. also mark this old manorial and parish boundary. The chain of ponds on 2 your right were dug as The summit of Parliament around 300 5 Hill will give you a years ago. The waters of the welcome breather and feed them. Water great views over the city. birds such as herons, great- More mystery surrounds the crested grebes and the pre- name. may simply record the historic like cormorants can be visibility of the seat of govern- seen here. You may even catch a ment, or does it commemorate glimpse of a kingfisher. Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in The Tumulus 1605? Some think that his supporters lay in waiting here to witness the deed being done.

The pine-topped Tumulus 3 is something of a mys- tery. Some believe it is an ancient burial ground or the Parliament Hill resting-place of Queen Boudicca. This is a good More likely it is the site of an old spot to watch windmill or a folly, once visible migrating birds. from . In the autumn, Just inside the woodland look for large 4 on your right you will numbers of see what is probably the swallows and oldest human-made feature on house martins. kingfisher Heath Circuit

gg 2 Rooms 210 H3 Gate ne H3 tead La Prospect Hamps Hill Gate The Orchard West Gate Lodge Stables North Wood Kenwood 112m Kitchen Nursery H3 Garden H3 4 Flower Mansion Cottage Garden Information4 Centre Trail Kenwood H3 House 6 Ikins Gate Goodison Kenwood th Corner Fountain E Spaniards nd () Ro Inn P.H. ad Concert 3 Stone 11 Site

Mount Bridge 12 y a Tyndal West Sham Fitzroy Park W Gate Meadow Bridge 13 a d 210 e st 268 p m ad a o H R Gate y nd 3 Bull & Sa Bush P.H. Duelling Gate Highgate Ground Gate 14 Hill Park The Bandstand Elms Gate d a 2 North End Westfield o Radio Mast Gate Gate Hampstead Gate R 7 s Gate Deer Gate Pitt's rd South ia closure Garden n Meadow 15 Sandy a p The Hill S N Heath Garden o d rt oa h R E 16 y n d d n 115m a W Highgate

a y Ponds M

Fairground i l l f Site ie Pergola Bird ld Inverforth L Bridge a House n West Heath e Heath Ice House House Viaduct Dartm 95m 17 Par Bog 7 Sports East Heath5 Ground Tumulus Jack Straw's 6 18 Castle P.H. 210 We Parliament st Heath Road 268 Hill Fields The Vale of Health Pound d Roa ath 5 He est e Dukes W nu ve Field 130m East H A Stone of Free ea e th im 8 R L 8 Parliament Hill Speech Judges o ad (Kite Hill) Walk The Pryors B 1 r a 98m n 9 c 9 h H Bandstand il l lk a Hampstead W ll Ponds e Brgh W The trail starts here at Kenwood House from the south 1 the Parliament Hill Café. Follow the trail, via the ponds, to Millfield Lane. This country lane is a 2 continuation of Millfield Lane, which borders the area that was Millfield Farm. It is also known as Poet’s Lane face, which is from the due to associations with Georgian period. The House Coleridge and Keats who were exhibits important collections known to listen to the of paintings. The adjacent nightingales here. ancient woodlands are inhabited by jackdaws, a rarity so close to , and bizarrely, ring-necked parakeets. The Kenwood Estate was bequeathed to the nation by the 1st Earl of Iveagh.

The Goodison Fountain You are now on the Vale of Health estate The Goodison Fountain 5 road. Sir Thomas Maryon was erected in memory Wilson, who had manorial 3 of Henry Goodison, rights on this part of the Heath, involved in the campaign to built this in 1845. His grand plan save Kenwood House. In the to build on the Heath was summer, meadow brown and eventually scuppered by local orange tip butterflies as well as protestations. Keep an eye out swifts can be found in the for treecreepers and nut- meadow beyond. In winter, hatches, which can be seen flocks of fieldfares and redwings moving around the trunks of from Scandinavia arrive. trees. You will now walk via the In front of you is Vale of Health estate road to 4 Kenwood House. You Sandy Heath and onto the are looking at its south Extension. Looking south, the Hampstead Heath Extension showing the hedgerow systems

The hedgerow to the Congratulations! You 6 left of the path is a have reached the remnant of the ancient 8 Summit of Hampstead woodland, Wylde Wood. Oaks Heath, the highest natural and hornbeams are inter- point in London. To the right is spersed with hazel, hawthorn the Flagstaff, which marks the and elder. To your right are the site of the fire beacon that Seven Sisters Ponds that provided warning of the eventually feed into Brent Spanish Armada in 1588. For . In the summer a centuries it was lit to celebrate variety of damselflies and jubilees and other national dragonflies including the azure events. blue damselfly and the common darter dragonfly can be seen patrolling the area. Roesels bush cricket

Pryors Field is an 9 acidic grassland of great conservation value. It has a diversity of grass and invertebrate species. The numerous anthills are visited regularly by green wood- peckers. The greater and lesser- On entering Golders Hill spotted woodpeckers are also 7 Park you can see the resident on the contrast with the wilder Heath. parts of the Heath. A large mansion, known as Golders Hill House, once stood here until it Red admiral was bombed during the Second World War. The park has a stunning walled garden and a variety of exotic tree species. Sandy Heath 3 and the Pergola cular H3 Ikins No rth Corner E West Heath Ave Spaniards nd Ro Inn P.H. Trailad

Mount y

a Tyndal W Gate a d 210 e st Gate Gate 268 p m ad a o H R Gate y nd 3 Bull & Sa Bush P.H. Gate Golders Hill Park 1 The Gate 1 Bandstand Elms Animal Enclosure North End Radio Mast Gate 3 4 Gate Deer Gate Pitt's 5 Enclosure Garden Sandy Water The Hill Spaniards Road N Heath Garden Garden o Gate d rt oa h R E y n d d n 115m a S W a 2 y Childs 2 Fairground Site ad Hill Pergola Inverforth West Heath House Heath Ice House Ho se

The trail starts here at to potential troublemakers. 1 Golders Hill Café. The According to local legend, Dick trail takes you through Turpin was also associated with Golders Hill Park and West the Heath and is thought to Heath before bringing you to have used the , the Hill Garden. further to the East. The beautiful and restful 2 Hill Garden is one of London’s best-kept secrets. The adjacent Pergola was the brainchild of Lord Leverhulme, a resident of Inverforth House, in the early 1900s. This covered walkway is as long as the Tower is tall. The The classical arch in Pitt’s Garden Corporation of London carefully Just off the beaten track is restored it in the early 1990s. Pitt’s Garden. This large Recently, brown long-eared 4 walled garden is part of bats have been discovered the Heath and is now a spec- roosting here. tacular wilderness with a ruined classical archway. It contains areas of recently planted heather, the Heath’s signature plant. You are now on Sandy 5 Heath, which is a dramatically altered, lunar-like landscape. The steep slopes, sudden hollows and The Pergola overlooking West Heath undulations show the places Behave yourself! The where sand has been dug over 3 infamous ‘Gibbet Elms’ many years. Large areas of once stood close to here. gorse can be found here and The bodies of highwaymen provide a good habitat for were hung in a suspended nesting birds such as long- iron framework as a warning tailed tits.

Hampstead Heath Trails Hampstead Heath is one of a number of open spaces, parks and gardens in and around London owned and managed by the Corporation of London as part of its commitment to sustaining a world class city. Each open space is a unique resource managed for the use and enjoyment of the public and for the conservation of wildlife and historic landscape. A full list of sites and visitor information can be found on our website at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/openspaces or by contacting the Open Spaces Directorate on 020 7606 3030.

SOME IMPORTANT CONTACTS

Emergency Heath Constabulary 020 8340 5260 General enquiries Parliament Hill Office 020 7485 4491 Golders Hill Park Office 020 8455 5183 Information on Wildlife, History Education Centre 020 7482 7073 and Guided Walks Superintendent’s office 020 8348 9908 Website www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

Picture credits: Kingfisher/red admiral butterfly, Mike Read. Roesels bush cricket London Wildlife Trust.

PRINTED ON PAPER FROM SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FORESTS