Prepare yourself for a bit of a trek because Hampstead station is about a mile away from the lookout point (on top of a hill). Come out of the station and head down the slope, walk along the high street and take a left into Flask Walk. This pretty little lane is full of cottage shops selling postcards and sesame seed snacks.
I get the impression that nothing bad ever happens down here. No one drops litter, no one gets mugged and even the rainclouds blow over so nothing gets wet. Then it merges into a leafy street with a really nice village-feel to it with uneven streets, wonky old walls and old-style lantern lampposts. The pavement is covered in pink petals and dropped blossom and it has that Sunday sound of people banging hammers, doing bits of DIY.
John Constable’s house
Keep going up Well Walk where people are strolling about with little yappy dogs and flip-flops. Everything seems to be covered in lilac and lavender and wrapped around in ivy. See if you can spot John Constable’s house along the way (look out for the blue plaque on the wall).
After 10-15 minutes you should reach the boundary of the park, so get ready for a sudden change of mood. You’ll be marching down a muddy path that winds its way through a dark and gloomy wood, walled-in by nettles and live wires of thorns that try and pinch your sleeves as you go past. The woods will be buzzing with moths and midges and every fifty-feet you’ll come across a big felled giant, a sawn-off tree truck riddled with barnacles of fungi and ferns. They remind me of some burnt-out tanks on the road to Berlin. I wonder how long they’ve been lying there.
It’s quite a spooky scene actually. All of the sunlight seems to have halted above the canopy of trees, like the time-zone changes fifty-feet above your head. Up in the sky it’s still sunny Sunday morning, but down here on earth it’s gloomy Monday.
Eventually you’ll come across a little green field on the right. Keep going past that (you’re nearly there). Fifteen minutes after entering the wood the trees will start to thin out and you’ll discover that you’ve climbed the hill without even realising it. Everything will be covered in wispy tall grass and pacing through it is a bit like trudging through a deep drift of snow.
The summit of Parliament Hill
There’s not much point in me giving you any more directions because there are about a million different dusty paths to follow (none of them signposted). Just keep going in the same general direction and eventually you’ll see a mound that looks like no other, and you’ll know straight away that you’ve found the right one because it rises cleanly out of the woods like a bald head out of a jumper.
If you pick the right path then you’ll see the top of The Shard rising out of the top as you climb it, like someone is poking a needle through the skin of a balloon. Then you’ll have the whole of London laid out before you, from the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to Big Ben in Westminster.
View from the top of the hill
They’ve got a few benches and a silver plaque to help you pick out the most recognisable landmarks, but half of the fun is in trying to find them yourself. The Gherkin and the Shard are extremely easy but St. Paul’s might take you a little longer (it’s still easy though!). And what about the Houses of Parliament? If you can spot that without looking at the plaque then give yourself a pat on the back. The farthest thing that I could see today was about ten miles to Crystal Palace.
So here comes the million dollar question… which view is better, Parliament Hill, Primrose Hill or Greenwich Hill? I would have to say that Parliament Hill is definitely better, and the walk is lot nicer too, but the other two are closer to the centre of town and won’t take up so much of your day. Personally I would plump for Greenwich Hill every time, then Primrose Hill, and maybe save this one for last.
If you enjoy this then try Greenwich Park (travel from Hampstead to Cutty Sark by tube) and Primrose Hill (walk it in 30 mins or travel from Hampstead to St Johns Wood via tube)