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A Hampstead Walking Guide Around Beautiful Hampstead Village!

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Hampstead is one of the most gorgeous parts of London and a great place to visit in London. Although I am a bit biased because I lived there a few years, but I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about Hampstead- the Village in the City.

I loved it and now I want to give you the inspiration to visit Hampstead and information on where you should head to see the best of Hampstead including lots of history, cute streets, beautiful buildings and amazing views of London!

Here is a great walk around Hampstead and a Hampstead walking route that I recommend you follow!

Hampstead Guided Walk!

hampstead walking guide burgh house
Keep reading for a Hampstead Walking Guide!

Hampstead Mao for Your Hampstead Self Guided Walk:

This map details all of the places to visit in Hampstead that I have mentioned in the below post:

 

Hampstead Self Guided Walk Route:

Firstly, how to get to Hampstead?

Hampstead is on 2 tube lines, the Northern Line and the Overground. For this walking route of Hampstead get off the tube at Hampstead Underground Station on the Northern Line.

As the guide says, this is London's deepest tube station at 192 feet/58.5m. Some people will say Covent Garden is the deepest in London but nope, it's Hampstead so don't listen to them!

If you're not in London already and need to book train tickets to London, be sure to check out The Train Line. I use them all the time to compare the best train times, journey lengths and prices!

hampstead walking guide tube station

Cross the High Street at the traffic lights and walk down the street a bit until you come to Perrin's Court Lane on your right.

This is a really lovely street as its car-free and it has one very Instagram-able house along it! See below!

hampstead walking guide perrins court house

At the end of Perrin's Court cross over the road at the traffic lights just opposite Tesco Express and then go back on yourself slightly to Church Row on your right.

This is one of the streets that I'd never been down before reading the guide and I couldn't believe what I had been missing!

The Guide says that 'this is one of London's prettiest streets, with its delightful 18th-century homes', and I have to agree that it's so pretty, especially this white house below as it's totally different to the other buildings on the street.

hampstead walking guide church row
hampstead walking guide church row

A few meters down is St John's Church. I didn't go inside but within the grounds is the tomb of painter John Constable who lived from 1776-1837 and lived in the village for many years.

I told you we were going to get historic, Hampstead has so much history!

hampstead walking guide st johns church

Turn right up Holly Walk, this is another quiet road with a graveyard on one side and 200-year-old cottages on the other.

Although there are also some very modern and fancy houses up here too!

hampstead walking guide holly walk


Towards the end of the street is St Mary's Church which is a catholic church built by refugees from the French Revolution. Very interesting!

hampstead walking guide st marys church

A few houses up is also The Watch House where the newly formed Hampstead Police Force set out on patrol from in the 1830's!

hampstead walking guide the watch house

Turn right and then take the second sharp left in a few meters and you'll see a sign for The Holly Bush Pub. Cross over the road to the right and the pub is in front of you.

The Holly Bush Pub is a very popular Pub in Hampstead and one of the most famous Pubs in London and rightly so. It's 200 years old which is impressive.

It's a really local British Pub and does look like a village pub both inside and outside. The food there is really good too so I'd recommend stopping here on your Hampstead walk for a drink at least.

hampstead walking guide the holly bush pub

Head back out onto Holly Bush Hill and in front of you, you'll see some iron gates which are the entrance to Fenton House museums in Hampstead, one of the.

This is Hampstead's oldest mansion - a 17th-century merchants house according to the guide. You can go inside when it's open to see its Georgian furniture and 17th-century needlework.

The garden is gorgeous too and free to enter. Apparently, the garden has barely changed in 250 years!

Standing there for a minute admiring it, I tried to imagine what it would have been like all those years ago when this really did feel like a rural village!


If you're not in London already and need to book train tickets to London, be sure to check out The Train Line. I use them all the time to compare the best train times, journey lengths and prices!


hampstead walking guide fenton house

Continue up Hampstead Grove. On the left and signposted is the Admirals House.

The guide says that '200 years ago, the owner, a retired officer, fired a cannon to celebrate naval victories and he inspired the character Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins!

I don't know about you but walking past the house of someone who inspired a character in that hugely popular film is pretty cool I think!

hampstead walking guide the admirals house

Turn right and Heath Street is in front of you, cross over it, walk down a bit and then turn left up Hampstead Square Road.

This is one of my favourite little streets that I have walked down many times.

I love how small the street is and the barn-like door on the right which looks so old and reminds me how small this area once was.

hampstead walking guide church square

Carry on straight past Christ Church and follow Cannon Place Road to the end and turn right down the hill.

Towards the bottom of the hill on the right is the 1730 Parish Lock up and above is the magistrate's house. The Marco Polo Guide says  'here prisoners were kept in solitary confinement to await their fate'.

hampstead walking guide parish lock up

Being in front of this door really gave me goosebumps and once again reminded me how much has happened in these streets that I live in!

hampstead walking guide parish lock up sign

Turn right and then continue to walk straight up Well Road to New End Square and turn left.

At the top of the hill as you look down the narrow road you can just see the Shard in the distance.

I love this view because it reminds me just how close the city really is and the contrast between the old buildings of Hampstead and the shiny Shard really moves me!

hampstead walking guide hampstead view shard

As you walk down the hill on your left is 300-year-old Burgh House, one of Hampstead's many museums.

It has a cafe called The Buttery Cafe inside which is one of the many lovely cafes in Hampstead and a cute garden where you can sit outside in front of the house which I would recommend doing if you need a break from walking.

Inside is a small local history museum with information on some of the famous people who lived in Hampstead.

After Burgh House turn left and The Wells Tavern Pub will be in front of you.

This is another one of the popular Hampstead Pubs and on the weekend it is full of people sitting outside, it also serves really good food!

hampstead walking guide the wells tavern pub

At the pub turn right down Christchurch Hill, another Street that I love.

Again from the top you can see the shiny buildings of the city in the distance but I also love the row of houses that run down the road.

hampstead walking guide christchurch street

Keep going straight and then bear right where it joins Willow Road. Just down here is No 2 Willow Road which was built in 1939 as a modernist home and at the time was very futuristic!

I can see this now as I thought it may have been from the 60-70's so if it was built in the 1930's it would have looked very modern back then.

Unfortunately today it does look slightly unremarkable as the guide says and a bit ugly as I say, but you can go inside during the day as it is a museum in Hampstead to see many of the owner's possessions from Modern Art to Furniture.

On the weekends this place is always pretty busy so I imagine it's quite good!

hampstead walking guide no 2 willow road

Down the street a bit on the left you'll start seeing the huge green space that is Hampstead Heath.

If you wish to have a walk in the park then I suggest you go from here. Here's more information on things to do in Hampstead Heath!

Hampstead Heath is huge but the best place to head to is Parliament Hill which is a 15-minute walk from Willow Road.

You'll pass the ponds, of which some are Hampstead Heath swimming ponds during the non-winter months so look out for the crazy people swimming!

hampstead walking guide hampstead heath

You'll know when you reach Parliament Hill as there are normally quite a few people admiring the view and I don't blame them. From here you can see all over London and all of its prominent buildings!

If you have time, from here you can walk North from Parliament Hill to Kenwood House, it's a lovely walk but can be muddy and will take at least one hour, if not more to walk there and back so come prepared if you want to, or save it for another time if not.

hampstead walking guide hampstead heath view

From Hampstead Heath head back to South End Road.

There are a number of shops and cafes on this bit of road as well as Hampstead Overground station. Hampstead is also known for its good charity shops of which there are a few along this street.

Now turn right up Keats Grove and on the left is Keats House, another good Hampstead museum. This is a very famous house in Hampstead as John Keats who was a Romantic Poet lived here.

Although he died in 1821 at only 25 years old he was and is known as one of the greatest lyric poets in English History.. pretty impressive. You can go inside the house if you wish.

hampstead walking guide keats house

Continue to walk up the road past St John's Church which was built in 1829 and continue up the street until you get to Hampstead High Street which is the main road.

hampstead walking guide church

Turn right and head up the hill, there are lots of nice shops up here too.

Just before the tube station turn right into Flask Walk, this is another beautiful little pedestrian street with a popular antique shop, a florist, a pub called The Flask Pub and maybe most importantly and most popular, a gelato shop called Oddeno's.

There's usually a line all year round, especially on the weekend but this just proves how good it is and I can vouch for it too!

hampstead walking guide flask walk

From here, head back onto the main road and you'll have ended your Hampstead Walk and be back at Hampstead Underground Tube Station.

I really do think this is the best walking route of Hampstead to show you the history of Hampstead and see it's green spaces. As you can tell I love Hampstead and I urge everyone to visit!


This post is sponsored by Marco Polo Guides however all thoughts and opinions are my own and I truly do love and recommend Hampstead! 

 

Hannora Frost

Sunday 26th of May 2019

Thank you for a real good guide we didn't get lost once!! We will be going on one of your other walks soon. Many thanks

TheWanderingQuinn

Monday 27th of May 2019

That’s so good to hear! Thank you for letting me know and glad you enjoyed your day :)

Steve

Wednesday 15th of May 2019

Would have been helpful to know how long the walk is

TheWanderingQuinn

Wednesday 15th of May 2019

It will take from 2-4 hours depending on how often you stop.

Tina Reid

Friday 29th of March 2019

Really helpful blog Thank you!

I am planning to visit with my daughter for Mothers day. Do happen to know of any good cafes that offer nice vegan food?

Tina

TheWanderingQuinn

Friday 29th of March 2019

You’re welcome! Umm I can’t think of a particular one to be honest but so many places offer vegan options now I think you’ll be ok in most. I do have a post on brunch recommendations in Hampstead so that might help find cafes that you can then look into online first. Enjoy!! :)

Irene Milton

Sunday 24th of June 2018

Thank you so much. Was able to print from the blog. So excited and so will my girlfriends be on our walk. Irene Milton.

TheWanderingQuinn

Monday 25th of June 2018

I’m so glad you managed to print it. It will be such a good day. Enjoy :)

Irene Milton

Sunday 24th of June 2018

I loved your walking guide around Hampstead. Hoping to take a group of women next Saturday but can’t download or print your amazing guide. Can you help me. Thank you. Irene Milton

TheWanderingQuinn

Sunday 24th of June 2018

Thank you. I’m afraid it’s just on the blog post so maybe try and print the webpage :) I hope you enjoy Hampstead.