{"id":438,"date":"2013-07-28T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T08:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/28\/hurray-for-hampstead-and-its-heath\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:30","slug":"hurray-for-hampstead-and-its-heath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/28\/hurray-for-hampstead-and-its-heath\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurray for Hampstead–and its Heath!"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nSaturday, July 27, 2013<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nLondon<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Although I went to bed at 1.00 am, I
\nwas up before 6.00 am\u2014what is it about my body that allows it to make do with
\nso little sleep? There wasn\u2019t a moment to waste, however, as I am still
\nfighting a submission deadline for a chapter in an Anglo-Indian anthology that
\nhas been returned to me by the editors. So after brekkie (foraged from whatever
\nI could find in the fridge as my food supplies have run low and since I am
\nmoving again tomorrow, I don\u2019t want to buy anything more)\u2014which ended up being
\ncereal flakes with raspberry yoghurt\u2014I began working. Must admit I could not
\nresist switching on Saturday Kitchen<\/i> on
\nthe BBC for a glimpse of the very dishy James Martin. Bonus was the BBC Weather
\nWoman Carol Kirkwood with her pretty smiling face and lovely demeanor. I worked
\nswiftly and was all done in three hours. I am happy to say that my essay is ready
\nto be emailed to the editors after I have read it through one more time tomorrow.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Since tomorrow is Moving Day again
\n(I go off to Battersea to my friend Roz as my friends Raquel and Chris return
\nfrom the States), I began packing and put away the bulk of my clothes. As
\nalways, only last-minute things will go into my backpack tomorrow. I showered
\nand changed and before I knew it, it was 2. 30 pm and time to leave for my
\nappointment with my friend Murali outside Hampstead Underground Station. A quick
\nlook at the Tube map told me it would take almost an hour and three changes to
\nget there by Tube, Another quick look at the Journey Planner website told me
\nthat I could take a single bus there (No. 46) from Finchley Road and get there
\nin 22 minutes! Go Figure!<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>So off I went to the bus stop and in
\nthree minutes, along rolled the bus. The journey took me through parts of
\nLondon with which I am unfamiliar\u2014Finchley, Swiss Cottage and then we arrived
\nin Hampstead. Murali was there on cue and we began a Walking Tour of Hampstead
\nfrom the DK Eyewitness<\/i> Guides.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nRediscovering Hampstead:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Hampstead is a delightful part of
\nLondon. Far from the madding crowd, in a sense, it is removed from the bustle
\nof the city. It has always been a rather exclusive neighborhood\u2014ever since
\ncuring spa waters were found in its vicinity. For lovers of Britain\u2019s domestic
\nVictorian architecture such as Moi, it is a dream venue with its red brick
\nfa\u00e7ade houses, elaborately designed gables and rich stucco decoration. I never
\ntire of simply running my eyes over the structures that line its leafy streets
\nas I wander aimlessly through this unspoiled village. Hampstead is also home to
\nsome beautiful and historic stately houses\u2014all of which I have visited over the
\nyears (Fenton House<\/b> full of Chelsea
\nporcelain and a collection of musical instruments; Kenwood<\/b> which is one of Robert Adams\u2019 first creations filled with
\nits Wedgwood-style plasterwork and an amazing collection of art including a
\nVermeer; Burgh House<\/b> which houses a
\nHampstead Museum; \u201c2 Willow Road\u201d,<\/b>
\nthe home of architect Erno Goldfinger whose Modernist vision revolutionized British
\narchitecture in the 1960s; Keats\u2019 House<\/b>
\nin which the poet composed his best-known poem and my favorite, \u201cOde to a Nightingale\u201d,
\netc. ). I was there to simply amble around at will enjoying the ambience of a
\nlovely summer weekend afternoon.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>So off we went, down Flash Walk<\/b> (so-called because soothing
\nspa waters were once sold in flasks along this lane) and Well Walk<\/b> (so-called because it was the location of the well that
\nwas the source of the soothing waters) and passing by the 1888 Public Baths and Wash House<\/b>. Few people
\nknow that when many of the Anglo-Indian immigrants that I interviewed for my
\nforthcoming book first arrived in the UK, they had no bathrooms in their homes.
\nThey used Public Baths where for one penny, they were handed a towel and a
\nsliver of hard carbolic soap and allowed to bathe! Naturally, the advent of indoor
\nbathrooms made these public baths redundant. Many have been converted into
\ncommunity swimming pools but some (such as the building at Hampstead) have
\nremained disused because many councils do not have the resources to refurbish
\nthem for other uses (this is probably not the case in affluent Hampstead, of course,
\nand it is possible that it has been simply retained as is to preserve its
\nvintage feel). I was charmed to come upon it so suddenly and took a picture. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>We pressed on towards the New End Theater<\/b> where, five years ago,
\nI had escorted my students to a play. I discovered that two years ago it was
\nconverted into a mosque\u2014how things change! We climbed up Christ Church Passageway<\/b> and arrived at the quaint stone church called
\nChrist Church<\/b> with its leafy yard,
\nits fairy-tale wooden doors sporting big iron door knockers and hardware and
\nits lovely steeple reaching out towards blue skies. This is the true essence of
\nHampstead\u2014a church here, a corner pub there, a garden caf\u00e9 in a Georgian museum
\nfrom which the sounds of classical music faintly emerged in another bend).
\nAround a corner, we arrived at Jack
\nStraw\u2019s Castle<\/b> which was once a pub but is now converted to a block of
\nflats. Not very appealing in its attempts to imitate the crennellated towers of
\na castle, it was nevertheless a fine landmark at a corner where an ancient
\nwhite milestone stood not too far away to mark the distance from Hampstead to
\nHolborn\u20144 and a half miles! A pretty pond filled with bulrushes and green algea
\npunctuates this part of Hampstead and along Spaniard Lane (<\/b>known for its old Spaniard Inn<\/b> where highwayman Dick Turpin once waylaid innocent
\ntravelers and robbed them), we found a narrow set of steps leading down to the famous
\nHampstead Heath (a Heath is a wide open parkland and London has a few).<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\nA Walk on Hampstead Heath:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n          It
\nwas a lovely day for a picnic on the Heath and there were many people enjoying
\nthe outdoors\u2014sunbathing, walking dogs, pushing babies in strollers or jogging.
\nWe strolled along hoping to get to Parliament
\nHill<\/b> which offers lovely views of London from St. Paul\u2019s dome (which was once
\nthe most prominent landmark in the city) to the Shard whose skinny contours now
\ndominate the skyline. It took us some looking to find the spot as the Heath is
\nnot marked at all and maps are conspicuous by their absence (I believe it has
\nsomething to do with keeping the outdoors unspoiled). Eventually, we did find
\nthe trail leading to the hill and when we were fairly close to it, the skies opened,
\ngently, and the drizzle began. We took shelter under a tree studded with tiny
\npine cones for at least 20 minutes as we waited out the shower.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>In a few minutes, we were at the top
\nof the hill joining other walkers in identifying the rooftops (St. Paul\u2019s, St.
\nPancras Station, Anish Kapoor\u2019s sculpture at the Olympics site\u2014which had
\nrevived for the weekend to mark the first anniversary of Britain\u2019s most
\nglorious recent weeks, the Gherkin, the Shard).  <\/span>Seen in a lot of movies (the last scene from Notes on a Scandal<\/i> with Judi Dench
\nsitting on a bench at this spot overlooking the city is memorable), this part
\nof London is special. Parliament Hill was supposedly given its name from Guy
\nFawkes and his cronies who climbed up this hill to view the Houses of
\nParliament blow up through their Gunpowder Plot. Happily, they never did, the
\nplot was exposed and the conspirators hanged. But Parliament Hill retains a name
\nthat brings back regular memories of the historical event (just as much as the traditional
\nfireworks do on Guy Fawkes Night). <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>It was time to try to find Kenwood House<\/b> but without maps on the
\nHeath to guide us, we were at a complete loss. That\u2019s when we ran into Sophia,
\na lovely young girl who walked hand in hand with her husband Jasmeet and who
\nguided us vaguely towards its location. Ten minutes later,  <\/span>after we had walked through a meadow with
\nknee-high grass, we asked directions from another Indian man who informed us
\nthat Kenwood House was closed for renovation for a couple of years. With our
\nmission aborted, we attempted to find an exit from the park and realized that
\nwe had reached Highgate<\/b> by this point
\nand were far away from Hampstead\u2014for the Heath stretches over two major London
\nhamlets. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>That\u2019s when we spotted Sophia and
\nJasmeet again\u2014they offered us a ride in their car back to Hampstead because
\nthey saw how clueless we were about how to proceed! It was a very welcome lift
\nindeed and off we went. In ten minutes, we were at Hampstead again and after thanking
\nthem, we proceeded with our walk by continuing where we had left off before
\nentering the Heath. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>So one we went but as the walk was
\nnot too well marked, we did our own thing and arrived finally at Church Row<\/b> which has one of London\u2019s
\nbest-preserved Georgian streets with perfectly intact Georgian terraced houses
\nlining it. At its end is St. John\u2019s
\nParish Church<\/b> where the artist John Constable lies buried in the adjoining
\nchurch yard. It was lovely to take in this very pretty part of the village. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>In a few moments, we rounded a bend
\nthat brought us back on the High Street. In search of sustenance (a cup of tea would
\nhave been welcome at this point), we eventually found the place I was seeking:
\nan American burger and milk shakes place that I remembered well from having
\ntaken my students there, five years ago. We did find it, right off the High
\nStreet on a slope leading up a hill\u2014Tinsel
\nTown<\/i> reportedly serves 50 kinds of burgers and shakes. We settled down and
\nhad lovely milks shakes filled with rich chocolate sauce and Ferrerro Rocher
\nchocolate. They were so delicious, satisfying and comforting after we had
\nwalked for nearly 6 miles! <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>It was then time to get back home
\nand Murali and I jumped back on the 46 bus heading back to St. John\u2019s Wood. A
\nthunderstorm had begun and as Murali walked to the Tube station, I (who hate getting
\nwet in the rain, especially the cold rain of the West) took shelter under a bus
\nstop and waited it out. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>About 15 minutes later, I was home
\nand hunkering down for the night by 10.00 pm as I suddenly felt very fatigued indeed.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n <\/span> <\/span>   <\/span>     <\/span>   <\/span>Until tomorrow, cheerio!      <\/span>      <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>    
\n<\/span>       <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n   <\/span>   <\/span>           <\/span>   <\/span>    <\/span>     <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday, July 27, 2013 London             Although I went to bed at 1.00 am, I was up before 6.00 am\u2014what is it about my body that allows it to make do with so little sleep? There wasn\u2019t a moment to waste, however, as I am still fighting a submission deadline for a chapter in an… <\/p>\n

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