Hampstead and Highgate: the back story

About Hampstead and Highgate: the back story

By the ULTIMATE London Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Hampstead and Highgate, high on the northern heights of London, kept their village character as the city grew around them. Between them lies Hampstead Heath.

Hampstead village

Hampstead grew as a spa in the 18th century, and its steep lanes, Georgian houses and old pubs such as The Holly Bush still give it the air of a country town.

The Heath

Hampstead Heath, saved from development in the 19th century and managed today by the City of London, offers woods, meadows, swimming ponds and the view from Parliament Hill.

From Parliament Hill, the whole of London seems to lie at your feet.

Highgate

On the eastern side of the Heath, Highgate village has handsome houses, The Flask pub and Highgate Cemetery, with its Victorian monuments.

Writers and thinkers

John Keats wrote poetry in Hampstead, Sigmund Freud spent his last year in Maresfield Gardens, and the architect Ernő Goldfinger built his modernist home on Willow Road.

Our advice: walk from Hampstead across the Heath to Kenwood for lunch, continue to Highgate, and book a tour of Highgate Cemetery for the afternoon.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Hampstead and Highgate: the back story before you go.