Hampstead Heath
“It was weather ordained for a walk.” —Emma M. Lion
Wed was all about Hampstead Heath—the vast, ancient expanse of rolling meadows, wooded hills, ponds & wild open countryside in north London. It is also one of the wealthiest & most exclusive neighborhoods in London.
Escape to the Country is a British show a bit like House Hunters in the US. One episode featured the work of Kinda Co. who make vegan cheese, so our first stop in Hampstead Heath was at Planet Organic to purchase a farmhouse cheddar & blue “che*se.”
We then walked to Karma Bread where we picked up a freshly-baked sourdough loaf & two fresh cinnamon rolls. Soon we were ambling along a path in the shade of ancient trees.
We meandered up Parliament Hill (aka Kite Hill) & found this bench with views over the Heath & beyond.
The bread & che*ses were as exceptional as the view.
😋 🤤
“Our Spot” on the Heath
“I am set for a day of far walking and long thoughts.” —Emma M Lion
The far walking was perhaps father than expected, but our path eventually led us to the sprawling & wooded Highgate Cemetery.
“When the living irritate, best to spend time with the dead.” Pierce about Highgate Cemetery, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
Amongst the roughly 170,000 people buried across its east and west sides is Karl Marx. Expelled from Germany & France for his revolutionary ideas, Marx moved to London in 1849 as a political refugee & spent the last 34 years of his life there, writing works like Das Kapital at the British Museum.
The cream-colored, turreted, gothic lodge at the west entrance was once the residence for the cemetery superintendent. There were two distinct chapels on opposite ends—one for Anglican services & the other for “Dissenters” or “non-conformists.” Through the archway, a large open courtyard was designed to let horse-drawn funeral carriages turn around easily.
Lovely Waterlow Park neighbors Highgate Cemetery.
We were tempted but decided against trying to search for George Michael’s grave in Highgate Cemetery, but we managed to find the next best thing in Waterlow Park—a memorial bench dedicated to Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (George Michael).
Fortunately, we found a nearby bus route to take us to Kenwood House. Amanda standing against the front façade.
Our 2:30 guided tour included this lovely library & a survey of the astonishing collection of art work.
Edward Cecil Guinness—the Irish philanthropist, businessman, & head of the Guinness brewing family—purchased the house in 1925 to save it from development & filled it with his personal collection of 63 elite paintings.
You may recognize the rear elevation from the 1999 rom-com Notting Hill where Hugh Grant visits the set where Julia Roberts is filming a period drama & overhears her dismissing him to a co-star by calling him a “dithering sort of bloke” & saying he is “just an old friend” who means “nothing to me.”
If for no other reason than the cheekiness of the name, we had intended on both of our previous trips to eat at Temple of Seitan. Well, we finally made it for Wednesday dinner.
My burger.
Amanda’s chicken strips and fries.
Oreo shake and cookie. Not our healthiest choice so far, but everything was so delicious!
After dinner we took the Tube back to The Scottish Stores & the Tennent tap was fixed!
On our way home, as we approached King’s Cross Station, the entrance gates were being pulled shut & a recorded message was telling everyone to exit the station immediately due to an emergency. Thinking it could be terror-related, we left the area, walked to the next Tube station, & rode home. From what we can tell, a sounding fire alarm led to the station’s closing & evacuation.
