Hampstead

More than 50 former residents are commemorated with brown or blue plaques at the homes where they once lived.

Hampstead’s rural feel lends itself for use on film, notable examples being The Killing of Sister George (1968), The Collector (1965), some scenes from An American Werewolf in London (1981) were shot on Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill.  More recently Kenwood House was the set of Notting Hill (1999). Outdoor scenes in The Wedding Date (2005), starring Debra Messing, feature Parliament Hill Fields on the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features in Notes on a Scandal (2006) together with the nearby areas of Gospel Oak and Camden Town. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill.

Hampstead, commonly called Hampstead Village, is extremely well known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath with its vast open, wild green spaces as well as offering some of the most expensive housing in the London area – it has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area of the United Kingdom.

Sitting four miles north of central London, Hampstead has Georgian houses, pretty period cottages in the winding streets around the High Street and large Victorian houses, many converted into flats. There are also large Edwardian mansions, plus mansion flats and now modern flats.  One of Hampstead’s prettiest streets is Downshire Hill between the High Street and the Heath, where a five-bedroom white stucco villa is for sale for £4.95 million.  Among the historic streets there are also a number of pioneering modern houses and developments.

There is a fabulous range of neighbourhood restaurants and bars, pubs and bistros offering something for everyone!  The Everyman Cinema on Haverstock Hill boasts comfy sofas, and screens a great selection of arthouse films. While Hampstead Theatre, whose mission is to create original theatre without creative restriction, is just a stone’s throw away in nearby Swiss Cottage.

There are three open air swimming pools, as well as tennis courts and an athletics track, at nearby Hampstead Heath.  The O2 Centre on Finchley Road houses a multiplex cinema, shops, bars, restaurants, a large Sainsbury’s and a Fitness First. There is also a Waitrose just down the road.  If you prefer to shop locally there’s an excellent selection of shops that really know the community they serve including excellent organic fruit and veg offerings and family run Barrett’s Butchers has over 100 years under their butcher’s belt.

Hampstead Heath is a 790 acre haven for those keen to reconnect with nature in the middle of the metropolis. Enjoy a walk across the park to majestic Kenwood House, or if you’re feeling brave join the regulars who, come rain or shine, can be found taking an early morning dip in the Heath’s ponds. Nearby Primrose Hill offers arguably the best view of the Capital – in fact the view of St Paul’s Cathedral so remarkable that it’s protected by a statute of law to prevent buildings that could block it.

Hampstead Tube station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line with trains to the West End and the City. Hampstead Heath is on the Overground with trains to West Hampstead for the Jubilee line and Highbury & Islington for the Victoria line.

Buses: The No 24 goes from South End Green to Trafalgar Square and Victoria; the No 46 goes from Hampstead High Street to King’s Cross, Holborn Viaduct and St Bartholomew’s Hospital; the No 168 goes from Haverstock Hill to Holborn and Waterloo, and the No 210 takes shoppers to Brent Cross.

To travel further afield, London City Airport is only 45 minutes away by Tube and DLR.

There are many US families renting locally; in addition, the French school in Kentish Town brings in French families. It is worth noting that the rental market is very buoyant often with demand outstripping supply.