Welcome to our new Walks on Hampstead Heath blog. Dedicated to our walks on the heath but also to gardens (both mine and others) and with the occasional guest appearance from Boris and Arwen – seen here fraternising on our scaffolding balcony. When I moved to Highgate back in February, one of the treats I …
Kenwood House
Slow walk around the boating pond
A reader told me the other day how much she enjoyed my/our walks – which caused me to have a little think about them. And I realised that my standard procedure was to march you, relatively briskly, through the woods and over the open heath focusing on the trees, the grasses, the undergrowth and the …
Walking, walking, walking….
I realise that, between this and that, I have not taken you for a walk for quite a long time, so, to make up, here are three of my favourite short walks. Walk 1. Down my ‘private path’ down past Athlone House gardens onto the heathland which runs between me in Highgate and Kenwood House. …
Kenwood Meadows
A rather uninspiring weather day turned into the most beautiful evening yesterday and the Kenwood meadows were looking at their best, pale gold in the late afternoon sun. So I thought you might enjoy a brief wander through the dried grass. (If you want to see the videos you will need to click onto the …
Kenwood Kitchen Garden
Alas, for those of us addicted to 19th century walled kitchen gardens, Kenwood’s kitchen garden is no longer a kitchen garden – but it is a totally charming oasis. Not that peaceful because it is so close to the road, but a joy for herbaceous border lovers! Above is the view through the entrance gates …
Springetts Wood
The highest point of Hampstead Heath – what used several centuries ago to be open heathland but is now heavily wooded – runs along a ridge running from east to West with Hampstead on the west side and Highgate on the east. In the middle is Kenwood House and grounds, and The Elms, the home …