Hampstead to Belsize Park
Saturday 25 October – fourteen of us started out on this sunny morning from Hampstead tube station to the West Heath where, en-route, we passed ‘The Holly Bush’ pub and Fenton House, a 17th Century Merchant’s House, now owned by the National Trust. By the time we entered the woods, to my pleasant surprise, Sue C had caught up with us. Walking on a carpet of autumn leaves and weaving our way through shrubs we soon reached the Hill Garden with its beautiful Pergola located behind the formal private gardens of Inverforth House (*). From the upper level of the Pergola, we enjoyed lovely views and a stunning display of autumn colours. At that point we were approached by a woman who had missed her group but who, incidentally, happened to know some people from our club. We invited her to come with us instead, so now we were sixteen.
The next stop was Golders Hill Park. It features a Water Garden, small animal enclosures with deer, donkeys, wallabies, a wild cat, a tiger owl, laughing kookaburras, waterfowl and other species of birds. However, if there were any lemurs about, they kept themselves most elusive. Before we stopped for refreshments at the Café, we walked through the attractive formal gardens – it was also a perfect spot for picnickers. A fat rat had obviously the same idea, diving in and out from the bushes and underneath one of the benches where a couple of our picnickers were ‘trying’ to enjoy their lunch.
A Tiger Owl
A laughing Kookaburra
Wallabies – spot the 3rd one
After lunch we continued with a loop around the Heath extension, past the not so visible Seven Sisters ponds, before making our way into Sandy Heath towards Spaniards Road from where, just after crossing it, a narrow gate gives access into the Heath and Kenwood. But, to my astonishment – or rather annoyance – the gate was firmly shut – padlocked. I was aware that Kenwood was holding Halloween events over this weekend, so I am guessing that Halloween had a hand in this – no treat for a pleasant route across meadows to the Kenwood Gardens but, instead, being tricked into having to walk along the busy road to the main gate. At least one of my companions was happy with this diversion as he could take a picture of the Spaniards Inn, a well-known pub. Back on the paths to Kenwood House we were greeted with a variety of Halloween themed displays.
The Spaniards Inn
After a short stop at Kenwood House we continued in the south-easterly direction, through meadows and woods, catching a glimpse of the River Fleet before it disappears underground. The route took us across the Stone Bridge and the Viaduct Pond and eventually to the Hampstead ponds and Parliament Hill Café where the group, by now down from 16 to 14, split up. Some of us stayed for refreshments where Barbara L, who couldn’t come on the actual walk, came to see us at the Café for a pleasant catch-up.
Viaduct Pond
View from Parliament Hill to the City
We returned to Belsize Park, our final destination, but not before having first taken in the splendid view of the London City scape from the top of Parliament Hill. At Southend Green numbers dwindled further due to the various options of public transport. Despite a few spatters of rain at around midday, we were lucky with the weather – we started this walk by sunshine and ended it with a late sun settling down to dusk.
My thanks to all my fellow walkers and to Christine R, Howard and Christine M for the additional photos – [below are a few more images]
Keep walking! Sigrid
(*) Information about Inverforth House https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverforth_House and the Pergola: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/where-to-go-at-hampstead-heath/hill-garden-and-pergola
