Hampstead Heath
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Hampstead Heath (locally known as "The Heath") is a public open space in the north of London, covering 791 acres (3.2 km²). It has 25 main ponds and areas of ancient woodland, bog, hedgerows and grassland. A part of the Heath has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by English Nature, the smallest one in London.
Part of the land was originally the common lands of the Manor of Hampstead, while much of the rest was the parkland and farmland of Kenwood House.
It is owned by the Corporation of London, which also maintains most of it. The Kenwood area, 112 acres (0.5 km²), is maintained by English Heritage. Most of the Heath, 681 acres (2.8 km²), lies in the London Borough of Camden. The remaining 110 acres (0.4 km²) is the Hampstead Heath Extension lying in the London Borough of Barnet.
The Heath is policed by its own small police force, the Hampstead Heath Constabulary.
Hampstead Heath was featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the London area, with a focus on Parliament Hill. The episode was presented by Bill Oddie, who lives nearby and watches birds there, regularly.
Public transport near the Heath include National Rail & the London Underground:
National Rail stations: Gospel Oak and Hampstead Heath
London Underground "Tube" stations: Hampstead and Belsize Park to the west; Golders Green to the north; Highgate and Archway to the east.
There are no signposts to, or on, Hampstead Heath. Tourist handbooks usually advise visitors to bring a map with them.
At the southern tip of the park is the Lido open air swimming pool. Further north near the Highgate side are two ponds in which swimming is allowed, both single-sex. To the west of these is the 'mixed pond', where members of either sex may swim. These ponds are fed by the Fleet River, which starts on the Heath and flows down to the River Thames at Blackfriars. Other ponds are variously used for fishing, model boats, and reserved for wildlife.
Part of the area (the West Heath) is well-known for its use by gay men as a cruising ground at night. There have been incidental attacks carried out on people cruising, and indecency prosecutions. Adjoining the West Heath, not part of Hampstead Heath but run by the Corporation of London is Golders Hill Park.
John Atkinson Grimshaw, Victorian era painter, painted an elaborate nighttime scene of Hampstead Hill in oils. Hampstead Heath also provided the backdrop for the opening scene in Victorian writer Wilkie Collins' novel The Woman in White.
Parliament Hill, one of the highest points in London, offers great views over the city:
In 2005, Giancarlo Neri's sculpture The Writer, a 9 metre high table and chair, was exhibited on Hampstead Heath.
External links
- [Hampstead Heath], Corporation of London website
- [History of Hampstead Heath]
- [The Heath & Hampstead Society]
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