Start with Montmartre. Add a cupful of Beacon Hill, a shot of vintage West Village and a splash of Hollywood. Combine with London’s most beautiful hill, and garnish with one unwelcome McDonalds. Here in Hampstead, London’s worst-kept, high-altitude secret, the ghosts of Sigmund Freud, T. S. Eliot and Robert Louis Stevenson mingle with Ricky Gervais, Ridley Scott and more Madonna-accented American expats than you can shake a Land Rover key at. But we’re all equal when it comes to losing ourselves in the charming lanes of Hampstead Village and the joyfully directionless expanse of the Heath, a metropolitan mini-wilderness that may be Europe’s finest city park. Welcome to Hampstead, as serene, green and lovely as ever.
FRIDAY
4 p.m.
1. The Battle of Britain
Hampstead has seen some of Britain’s fiercest attempts to preserve independent retailers and restaurateurs. The arrival of a McDonalds, for example, was preceded by a struggle[1] that lasted more than a decade. Skip the Starbucks and join the bankers’ wives at Ginger & White on Perrins Court. The employees are friendlier than the cafe’s slogan (“We don’t do grande”) would suggest. Enjoy your caffeination while people-watching at the window. Or make a new friend at the shared table.
4:30 p.m.
2. Wells and Wilde
On narrow Church Row, the history comes as tightly packed as the stately brick homes. H. G. Wells lived at No. 17; Oscar Wilde’s lover at No. 26; George du Maurier, the cartoonist, and grandfather of the five boys who inspired the tales of Peter Pan, at No. 27. The prerecorded bells of the Parish Church of St.-John-at-Hampstead[2] on Church Row were extinguished after a 1960s choirboy hijacked the “electrical contrivance” with a “record of the latest popular music.” Enjoy the silence as you wander through the churchyard, where some of London’s most atmospheric benches lurk among the tombstones. Many of the grave markers are tilting, the inscriptions on their gray stone all but effaced by centuries of English weather. John Constable, the painter, is buried here, and so is John Harrison, whose legendary chronometers helped solve the ancient problem of determining longitude at sea. In the Additional Burial Ground across Church Row you’ll find the graves of the boys who inspired Peter Pan, and of one Henry Kippin — “last of a long line of local chimney sweeps.”
6 p.m.
3. The Gilded Screen
You’re off to the movies. “Peter Pan” probably isn’t showing, but it hardly matters at the Everyman Hampstead theater, where off-screen attractions include pillow-piled leather armchairs, a balcony of discreetly spaced love seats, waiter service at your seat, and a hopping lounge that is open to nonfilmgoers. No popcorn, sadly, but try the salt and pepper cashews (£3.95, or $6, at $1.55 to the pound). Tickets start at about £14. Does your seat have its own ice bucket? It does.
9 p.m.
4. Posh Pub Crawl
The grande dame of Hampstead pubs is the Holly Bush. The reputedly haunted building once belonged to George Romney, the 18th-century portraitist (and distant relation of a recent presidential candidate). Weather permitting, have a seat outside — or sit by the fireplace with a shot of Ardbeg whiskey. My favorite pub is the neighborly Wells Tavern. Embrace the local “champagne socialist” stereotype with a Jacuzzi — gin, schnapps, orange juice and bubbly (£9.25). Then it has to be the Cumberland pork sausages with mashed potatoes and onion gravy (£9.95), followed by the sticky toffee pudding (£5.50).
SATURDAY
9 a.m.
5. Looking for a Few Good ...
Time to show that dessert who’s boss. Right above Hampstead Station is Heartcore, a Pilates-derived workout that’s taken several upscale London neighborhoods by storm. The stunning studio is all wood and light, but it is the founder Jess Schuring’s 55 minutes of tough love (£27) that you and your abs won’t forget. If you prefer your just deserts out-of-doors, let Ian Finch, a former Royal Marine commando (44-20-7751-9742; britmilfit.com[3] ), drag you and some friendly Londoners through an hour of not-so-basic training on Hampstead Heath (first session free).
10:30 a.m.
6. A Special Relationship
If you equate “continental breakfast” with “but I’m still hungry,” then rest assured. Britain and America stand together. A classic English breakfast is entirely familiar (eggs, bacon, sausage and toast), with a few healthful additions (mushrooms, beans and roasted tomatoes). Find yours all day at the Coffee Cup. This 1950s-era institution claims to be London’s oldest coffee lounge. Whatever its pedigree, its survival into the 21st century has been a Hampstead cause célèbre. Elizabeth Taylor (born in nearby Hampstead Garden Suburb) was a regular; Paul McCartney and Sting have been spotted, too. Required breakfast reading is the latest issue of Hampstead’s revered satirical rag, The Hampstead Village Voice[4] .
Noon
7. It Takes a Village
The London designer Nicole Farhi has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, so a visit to her Hampstead outpost counts as local shopping. In a recent interview, Ms. Farhi recommended the independent retailers that line charming Flask Walk. Then stop at the Hundred Acres, an old-school toy and children’s clothing store, before heading to the Hampstead Antique & Craft Emporium, where traders sell clothing, artwork and vintage Hampstead photographs. Another round of distinctive shops is clustered in South End Green. The shelves of Daunt Books interweave travel guides with a world of literature; the shop’s cloth bags are de rigueur for London literary locavores. Staffers lead literary walks[5] on the Heath.
2 p.m.
8. English Vintage
Time to assemble your Heath picnic. Select English apples at Pure Fruit. Drinks? Go on, go English: a 2010 Giffords Hall Bacchus from Suffolk (£15.25) at Jeroboam’s. Grab a charcuterie picnic basket (from £14.95) at Hampstead Butcher & Providore. Your cardiologist need not know about those delicious Parmesan biscuits (£5.50), more Parmesan than biscuit, from the foodie haven Melrose and Morgan.
3 p.m.
9. Urban Jungle
Hampstead Heath is a hilly, nearly Central Park-size idyll of woodlands, meadows and shimmering views over the metropolis. Enter the Heath via Well Walk (D. H. Lawrence lived at No. 32; Constable described the view from No. 40 as “unsurpassed in Europe”). Picnic spots include Parliament Hill, with its dazzling views, or the lawn beneath Kenwood House, a stately home closed for renovations until November (the cafe remains open). My favorite place is under any of the trees on the meadow west of the Model Boating Pond. Don’t miss “Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 5,” a Henry Moore sculpture near Kenwood House, or the Pergola[6] — a folly of gardens and elevated walkways built in the early 20th century, using fill from the Tube line that was just reaching Hampstead.
8 p.m.
10. La Vie en Rose
Reservations are a must at Jin Kichi, and so is the gindara, grilled black cod marinated in white miso (£14.80). For good reason, the sashimi tends to run out; order early. Hampstead’s best steak (and longest Edith Piaf playlist) is at Le Cellier du Midi — underground. If you can stagger back up the stairs, you can make it across the street to the Horseshoe, a modern addition to Hampstead’s pub scene, serving local Camden Town Brewery ales to a Brooklyn-esque crowd.
SUNDAY
8 a.m.
11. Cool Britannia
It’s understandable if swimming outdoors — in England, in autumn — isn’t your cup of tea. Plenty of Londoners disagree, though. Join them — or just watch their stiff upper lips turn blue — at one of the Heath’s famous bathing ponds. There’s a Men’s Pond (welcoming to all men, but particularly popular with London’s gay and Orthodox Jewish communities), a Women’s Pond (ditto, I’m told) and a Mixed Pond. Or focus instead on the mist rising into the early chill, the morning sun filtering across the treetops and the distinct possibility that you’re having the most peaceful morning in all of London.
10 a.m.
12. Royal Laundry
London Walks offers guided walks throughout London, but the two-hour saunter (£9) through Hampstead’s centuries of architectural and cultural history is the jewel in their crown. You’ll ponder the “fire marks” on old houses and the filled-in windows (think tax on windows, and the rumored origins of the phrase “daylight robbery”) on gracious homes. You’ll pass where Lord Tennyson’s mother lived, learn where the Tudors sent their dirty laundry and see where Charles de Gaulle, whom Churchill unkindly called “the monster of Hampstead, ” came to pray during his London exile.
Noon
13. Relax
Head to Burgh House, built in 1704 during Hampstead’s halcyon days as a spa. Rudyard Kipling’s last-ever outing was to visit his daughter, who lived there in the 1930s. Start with Sunday lunch at the cafe, then explore the excellent Hampstead Museum upstairs. Return to the verdant terrace for tea and cake. Here, in one of London’s quietest corners, there’s no better reason to linger.
THE DETAILS
1. Ginger & White, 4a-5a Perrins Court; gingerandwhite.com[7] .
2. Church Row. Parish Church of St-John-at-Hampstead, Church Row; hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk[8] .
3. Everyman Hampstead, 5 Holly Bush Vale; everymancinema.com[9] .
4. Holly Bush, 22 Holly Mount; hollybushhampstead.co.uk[10] . Wells Tavern, 30 Well Walk; thewellshampstead.co.uk[11] .
5. Heartcore, 50 Hampstead High Street; heartcore.co.uk[12] .
6. Coffee Cup, 74 Hampstead High Street; coffeecupuk.com[13] .
7. Nicole Farhi, 27 Hampstead High Street; nicolefarhi.com[14] . The Hundred Acres, 82 Heath Street; the100acres.co.uk[15] . Hampstead Antique & Craft Emporium, 12 Heath Street; hampsteadantiqueemporium.com[16] . Daunt Books, 51 South End Road; dauntbooks.co.uk[17] .
8. Pure Fruit, 36 Heath Street; (44-20) 7435-5084. Jeroboam’s, 29 Heath Street; jeroboams.co.uk[18] . Hampstead Butcher & Providore, 56 Rosslyn Hill; hampsteadbutcher.com[19] . Melrose and Morgan, Oriel Hall, Oriel Place; melroseandmorgan.com[20] .
9. Hampstead Heath.
10. Jin Kichi, 73 Heath Street; jinkichi.com[21] . Le Cellier du Midi, 28 Church Row; lecellierdumidi.com[22] . Horseshoe, 28 Heath Street, (44-20) 7431-7206.
11. Heath’s bathing ponds.
12. London Walks, (44-20) 7624-3978; walks.com[23] .
13. Burgh House, New End Square; burghhouse.org.uk[24] .
References
- ^ struggle (news.google.com)
- ^ Parish Church of St.-John-at-Hampstead (www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk)
- ^ britmilfit.com (britmilfit.com)
- ^ Hampstead Village Voice (www.hampsteadvillagevoice.com)
- ^ literary walks (www.spectator.co.uk)
- ^ Pergola (www.cityoflondon.gov.uk)
- ^ gingerandwhite.com (www.gingerandwhite.com)
- ^ hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk (www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk)
- ^ everymancinema.com (everymancinema.com)
- ^ hollybushhampstead.co.uk (www.hollybushhampstead.co.uk)
- ^ thewellshampstead.co.uk (www.thewellshampstead.co.uk)
- ^ heartcore.co.uk (www.heartcore.co.uk)
- ^ coffeecupuk.com (www.coffeecupuk.com)
- ^ nicolefarhi.com (www.nicolefarhi.com)
- ^ the100acres.co.uk (www.the100acres.co.uk)
- ^ hampsteadantiqueemporium.com (www.hampsteadantiqueemporium.com)
- ^ dauntbooks.co.uk (www.dauntbooks.co.uk)
- ^ jeroboams.co.uk (www.jeroboams.co.uk)
- ^ hampsteadbutcher.com (www.hampsteadbutcher.com)
- ^ melroseandmorgan.com (www.melroseandmorgan.com)
- ^ jinkichi.com (www.jinkichi.com)
- ^ lecellierdumidi.com (www.lecellierdumidi.com)
- ^ walks.com (www.walks.com)
- ^ burghhouse.org.uk (www.burghhouse.org.uk)
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