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Hampstead Heath

800 acres of ancient wild parkland with swimming ponds, woods, and meadows, feeling far larger than its distance from central London suggests.

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Hampstead Heath, 800 acres of ancient wild parkland with swimming ponds, woods, and meadows
Photo: Sunil060902, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

An Act of 1871 bought the Heath for public ownership for £45,000 and required it to be kept unenclosed and unbuilt on. Its 25-plus ponds began as reservoirs dammed in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Local tip

For the swimming ponds, go on a weekday morning rather than a weekend. Summer weekends bring long queues and a Monday-released online booking system for the Mixed Pond.

Finding it

Address
Gospel Oak, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England
Nearest station
Hampstead Heath (Overground), 982 m away

Details change, so check with the place before you set off.

More places nearby

  • Hampstead Mixed Pond (Hampstead Heath Swimming Ponds)Adventure · 450 m awayA Hampstead Heath swimming pond with lifeguards, changing rooms and showers, open to men and women together. The Highgate Men's Pond and Kenwood Ladies' Pond nearby are single-sex.
  • Parliament HillViewpoint · 700 m awayThe best-known viewpoint on Hampstead Heath, a favourite spot for kite flying with a wide, unbroken view of the City skyline.
  • 2 Willow RoadHidden gem · 800 m awayHungarian-born architect Ernő Goldfinger's own modernist family home in Hampstead, designed and built by him in 1939 and preserved as the National Trust's first modernist property.
  • The Spaniards InnNightlife · 800 m awayA coaching inn on the edge of Hampstead Heath, dating to 1585.

More parks

See all 39 parks in London