The settlement of Hampstead sits within the London Borough of Camden, in north London, and is one of the capital city's most exclusive and expensive places to live. In fact Hampstead village has the highest concentration of millionaires in the country. The geology of the area meant that natural springs were present. Hampstead had its own Chalybeate spring (meaning the water had a high iron content), and this was regarded as being medicinal. During the 18th century the area became a fashionable place where people would visit the spa and drink the water.
The further growth of Hampstead was instigated when the railway arrived in the area in the 1860s. This led to more housing being built, and ever since has been a popular place of residence for artists, composers, writers, scientists and politicians such as George Orwell, Agatha Christy, Henry Moore, John Constable, John Keats, Liam Gallgher, Sting, Sigmund Freud, Charles de Gaulle, and William Pitt the elder, to name a few. Plus it was the birthplace of Elizabeth Taylor, Damon Hill, Stephen Fry and Saul Hudson, who is better known as Slash from Guns N' Roses. The list goes on, and in total there are over 60 English Heritage blue plaques within the village.
To the immediate north and east of the village is Hampstead Heath which is a large area of ancient heath land. Archaeological evidence suggests its links to human history go back as far as the Mesolithic era around 7000 BC (or BCE). The earliest written records of the area seem to date from around 986 when the area was recorded as 'Hemstede' which comes from the Old English for homestead. By the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, it was owned by the monastery of St. Peters and was known as the Manor of Hampstead.
The manor changed hands many times over the years, and by the 18th century, had come into the possession of General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson and upon his death in 1821 it passed to his son Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson. The new owner had grand plans to develop parts of the heath, however, the terms in his father's will prevented him from selling the land or granting leases for longer than 21 years. This condition made the land unsuitable for building, and despite repeated efforts to have a bill passed in parliament to allow leases of 99 years, the House of Commons rejected it. The heath remained as natural undeveloped heath land.
Around the time of his death in 1869, there was mounting pressure for the heath to become publicly owned. In 1870 the Metropolitan Board of Works agreed to purchase the land, and in 1871 the Hampstead Heath Act was passed which allowed the sale to go ahead and added further conditions to protect it from future development. Additional areas of land were subsequently added to the area including, in 1899, the heath's most famous and popular spot, Parliament Hill Fields. It is here that you can find one of London's most famous viewpoints which gives a panoramic view across the centre of London. In fact the heath is home to 4 of the 13 London Protected Views.
At the northern boundary of the heath is Kenwood House which dates from the 18th century. It is Grade II* Listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and approximately one-third of the grounds is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is now operated by English Heritage and is free-of-charge to enter. During the 1920s the house and its 112 acres of parkland were purchased and added to the heath. The total area of land the park covers is now a whopping 790 acres and features areas of heath, woodland and open grassy meadows. The heath is also home to the 8th highest point in London.
Hampstead Heath once had over twenty-five ponds, but only eighteen of these still exist. They were created in 1777 by the damming of Hampstead Brook in order to create reservoirs to increase London's water supply. Some of the ponds are now famously used as swimming pools while another is a boating pond. In the middle of the heath is a tumulus, which legend says is where Queen Boudica is buried, however excavations in 1894 revealed no evidence of any burials at all. There are numerous other interesting features dotted around the heath such as a viaduct, the stone of free speech and the Hollow Tree which can reportedly hold 15 people within its trunk.
There are many links to popular culture to be found at the heath. A number of films have been made here including the 2017 true-story film Hampstead about a man who successfully claimed squatters rights on a corner of the heath and there's also a documentary called The Ponds which is quite interesting. The most well-known film is undoubtedly 1999's Notting Hill, which uses the grounds of Kenwood House for the scenes where Julia Roberts' character is filming a period-piece movie. It also features in Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, where it is the location that a character abducts some children. Finally, it is also said the heath gave the novelist C.S. Lewis inspiration when creating the land of Narnia.
In May 2011, the park became home to Hampstead Heath parkrun, which is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. For those that like to complete challenges, it is part of the alliterative parkruns set. I first visited and took part in event 108 which was held on 1 June 2013. I then revisited with the rest of the family on 14 September 2024 to take part in event 611. With the heath being so vast, it is important to know exactly which part of it to head to beforehand. The parkrun meeting point is in the East Heath area, which is on the southern side of the park near the village of Hampstead. The best point to enter the heath is via the entry points opposite Well Road or Well Walk. The latter of these is the location of Hampstead's Chalybeate Well.
If travelling by public transport the closest tube station is Hampstead which is served by trains on the Northern Line. At a depth of 58.5 metres this station's platforms have the distinction of being the deepest on London's entire tube network. The station is around 800 metres from the parkrun meeting point. Alternatively Hampstead Heath overground station is a similar distance away and both involve an uphill walk. If travelling on National Rail, the closest stations are either West Hampstead or Kentish Town. Both of these are further away and may require a change onto the London underground, London overground or a bus to complete the journey. The venue is of course reachable via numerous bus services, some that stop closest are the 46, 88, 268, and 603 (this is not an exhaustive list).
Public transport is the best way to reach this venue, however, if travelling by vehicle, the obvious place to park is East Heath car park, which has 110 spaces (plus a healthy selection of bicycle racks) and can be accessed via East Heath Road. As it is effectively in Central London, it does come with premium parking charges. As of September 2024, up-to two hours will cost £6.50, 2-4 hours costs £13.00, and any extra time is charged at an extra £11 per hour. Payment seems to be exclusively made via the RingGo app, so make sure you've got that set up before travelling here. The next closest car park is Jack Straw's car park, which has the same charges and payment method but is located on the west heath. Blue Badge holders can park for free however you must register the badge and vehicle online before visiting.
For anyone looking for free-of-charge parking, the closest on-street options I have seen are to the north of the heath. Hampstead Lane (B519) which runs adjacent to the heath's northern border has some sections that allow parking. Some of the side roads which lead off of Hampstead Lane, such as The Bishops Avenue, also have restriction-free areas. Interestingly, The Bishops Avenue is home to around 66 of the most expensive mansions in the country and is often referred to as Billionaires Row. Another option for free parking exists for English Heritage members, who can park in the Kenwood House car park which opens at 8am. This car park has a four hour limit for all users. The main thing to bear in mind is that all of these free options are quite a distance from the parkrun meeting point, with the Kenwood House car park being roughly 1.7 kilometres away. The on-street options are over 2 kilometres.
If travelling from further afield and considering staying somewhere overnight, there is a Premier Inn in Hampstead which is about 1.3 kilometres from the heath. It also has a customer car park which as of summer 2024 has a fee of £20 per 24 hours.
The heath has multiple onsite toilet facilities, but are all very spaced out across the various sections of the park. The ones closest to the parkrun are the Vale of Health toilets which are located in the East Heath section, approximately 700 metres to the north of the meeting point. If a toilet is crucial to your pre-parkrun routine, I would note that the heath is quite wooded here and if unfamiliar with the area it would be easy to lose one's bearings, so leave plenty of time to find (or re-find) the meeting area post toilet visit. On the subject of toilets, Hampstead is home to the 1897 'South End Green' toilets which, apart from being known as London's most elegant toilets, are also famous for being the location where the late George Michael was arrested in 2008. Please note that these are not likely to be open before parkrun.
The meeting point itself is in the open triangular-shaped grassy area adjacent to the Vale of Health Children's Play Area (on Google maps it is labelled as Vale of Health Play Enclosure). The event briefing takes place in this space and the participants are then ushered onto Lime Avenue which is the location of the start. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a first timers' briefing, only the one main briefing. This parkrun attracts a very consistent number of attendees which hovers around the 500 mark, so expect the start area to be extremely busy and if you don't manage to get yourself into the right spot at the start, you'll just have to accept it and be patient while filtering through the crowd.
The parkrun takes place on a two-lap lollipop-style course with the stick section used for the start and finish parts only. It could also be described as being an 'out, two-laps, and back' course. The surfaces underfoot are a combination of a forest-style dirt trail, gravel and tarmac. Footwear choice can be tricky here owing to the different surfaces, but overall I would edge towards wearing trail shoes especially in unfavourable conditions (winter or after significant rain). Hampstead Heath is quite a hilly place, so it is only natural that the parkrun follows that trend. My GPS data reported a total of 99 metres of elevation gain over the course of the 5 kilometres, which makes it one of the hilliest parkruns in London (second, I think). This event is fine for those who wish to participate with a buggy. I'm always nervous about advising suitability for wheelchair users, all I can say is that it is hilly, one of the downhills is particularly steep and the ground in not always smooth. I will also note that there are a lot of dog walkers here, so many loose dogs will be encountered on the way around.
Starting at the southern end of Lime Avenue, the course opens with a downhill section through this wooded section for about 200 metres which then seamlessly merges into an uphill, both with a gradient of around 6-7%. I would note that the edges of Lime Avenue feature a number of ditches and other potential trip hazards, so stay on the main part of the path and don't be tempted to go off-piste. At about 500 metres into the course, the thick coverage of trees on the right hand side begins to give way to a more open landscape, which reveals a very picturesque view to the east. The surface changes to gravel here and there is a long downhill section which leads all the way around to the Model Boating Pond. This section's marshal spot is regularly looked after by long-standing volunteer, David.
As the course approaches the pond, the surface underfoot switches to tarmac and then meanders along the western side of the beautifully landscaped pond. This is the course's lowest point, but almost immediately starts to go uphill where the route heads towards the famous viewpoint at Parliament Fields, however the course doesn't go all the way to the top. Another marshal can be found here and there's a short but rather steep downhill section. There is a nice moment, which I was reminded of when I read the Maria Runs Hampstead Heath parkrun blog, where you can glance over to the high point and see the silhouettes of fellow parkrunners making their way along the ridge. The last part of the lap continues the undulating theme of this parkrun as it weaves through a series of partially wooded sections before the end of the lap is reached.
The second lap starts by turning to the right, back onto the latter section of Lime Avenue and following the exact same loop as lap one. At the end of the second lap, the course turns to the left at this point. A word of warning if you happen be further back in the field and are being lapped towards the end of the first lap - Don't follow everyone else when they turn left! The spot is marshalled and the marshal will try their very best to direct, but just be aware that the risk of making a wrong turn is fairly high, as my daughter found out the hard way. There is a small sign advising which way to turn on each lap, but it is very hard to see on the approach to the junction.
After turning left at the end of the second lap, the last section is uphill and heads past the original start point. Cones placed on the ground lead the parkrunners around to the triangular meeting point which is where the finish can be found set up on the grass. A line of volunteers scanning barcodes can be found adjacent to the playground. If you fancy joining the team for post-run refreshments, the advertised location is Euphorium Bakery which is just opposite Hampstead Heath Overground station. However there are of course many other options should you not fancy that. If you fancy staying within the heath, the closest is the Parliament Hill Cafe or the Hampstead Heath Lido Cafe which is 100% vegan.
I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on Strava. I also used the Relive app to make a course fly-by video, which can be viewed on YouTube. The current course is different to the one used on my first visit back in 2013. In fact the start and finish are now in a completely different place. If you are interested in the old course, the GPS data and Relive video can also be found on Strava and YouTube. The links are at the bottom of this write-up. The results for event 611 were published later that morning and there were 493 finishers (sadly not including my daughter, who didn't cross the finish line due to the wrong turning noted above).
Post-parkrun (after I'd been interviewed by euronews) we headed off to explore the heath. The first point of call was the Hollow Tree which was smaller than I was expecting - it is currently roped off to protect it and its delicate root system from damage. We then worked our way around to see the viaduct and then made our way up to the Parliament Hill viewpoint via the famous mixed swimming pond. At this point the clock was ticking on our parking window in East Heath car park, so we jumped in the car and moved it to the Kenwood House car park, using our English Heritage membership to avoid further car parking costs. We then explored the Kenwood House grounds and had a picnic next to the lake, which has a folly in the form of a white bridge making this a wonderfully picturesque setting. Just to the east of the house is another of Hampstead Heath's viewpoints, this one is much quieter than its more famous sibling. Finally we went inside the house itself, which is of course very grand.
Even after being on the heath for around six hours I still felt as if we hadn't even begun to scratch the surface. It is so vast that you'd need quite a few trips to see it all. Plus there's the whole of Hampstead Village to go and explore, and the heath is not that far away from Highgate Cemetery which of one of London's magnificent seven cemeteries. So there's plenty left for us to do when we revisit. All that's left to do is say a huge thank you to all of the volunteers.
Related Links:
- My GPS data (2024)
- The Relive Course Fly-by Video (2024)
- My GPS data from 2013 (2013 course)
- The Relive Course Fly-by Video (2013 course)
- My original Hampstead Heath parkrun write-up (blog7t)
- The London parkrun Venues (blog7t)
- Euronews article and video filmed at this event where I am interviewed / video only
- Alliterative parkruns (blog7t)
