Hilltop Havens

We head to the lofty villages of north London, which have long provided city dwellers with a breath of fresh air

- Natasha Foges

In the late 17th century, London was a dangerous place to be. The Great Fire of 1666, hot on the heels of the Great Plague of 1665, were the last straw for many of the city’s noble families, who opted to flee the stench, dirt and disease in favour of the tranquility and clean air of the nearby hilltop villages to the north.

The highwaymen that once preyed on carriages heading to the hills are long gone, but the fresh air and open spaces remain. Hampstead Heath, an old, rambling park, covers some 800 acres of north London with grassy meadows, shady glades and swathes of dense woodland.

Concealed behind towering trees are a trio of swimming ponds – one men’s, one women’s, one mixed. Birds swoop overhead and weeping willows trail their branches in the ponds, in whose chilly waters hardy swimmers brave a dip even in the depths of winter.

Across the heath, the Hill Garden and Pergola is one of the capital’s hidden gems: a secret garden with a raised stone walkway that’s atmospherically overgrown with vines and exotic blooms, with views across the wild heath. Commissioned by soap magnate Lord Leverhulme in 1904 as an Italianate setting for his extravagant garden parties, it’s now a serene – and largely undiscovered – spot for Sunday strolls.

Nestled into the heath’s southwestern corner, Hampstead Village is one of London’s most picturesque neighbourhoods. For centuries, it has attracted artists and writers in search of inspiration, including the Romantic poets Keats, Shelley and Coleridge and the artists Constable and Romney. Even today, these leafy lanes are home to many writers and artists, as well as the occasional film star.