Been up and over The Hill recently?

I don't know how often lcoal residents wander up to Hampstead Heath to enjoy the natural beauty or indeed the constructed natural beauty.

This - The Hill Garden - is one of the finest pieces of constructed natural beauty around.

http://www.ukattraction.com/london/map/the-hill-garden-and-pergola.htm

Completely unknown to many locals it is overlooked by the even more stunning and amazing Pergola and is just a great location of quiet charm and solitude.

The views out across North West London are truly amazing - over to Harrow.

http://www.opensquares.org/detail/Hill.html

This was orginally/constructed to be the back garden of Lord Leverhulme's Inverforth House - the Pergola, as i think I have mentioned before, was constructed using the earth from the Hampstead Tunnel when the Northern Line was constructed in 1906/07.

If you haven't been up there you are missing a treat - of a summer evening it is breath-taking... oh and The Olde Bull and Bush and The Spaniards Pubs are also to be recommended!

Tranquil and idyllic thanks to the Northern Line

Hidden away in Hampstead Heath is the magical Hill Garden. It offers a complete contrast to the wild decadence of the pergola.

It is famously quiet and serene and a great place to sit, contemplate, write or paint. It's not unusual to find a painter, sketcher or photographer here enjoying the view and atmosphere.

There is an ornamental fish pond at the heart of the garden and at the far end there is a little alcove with a bench which gives a stunning view of the heath with London as the backdrop.

The pergola itself is the creation of Lord Leverhulme who owned the nearby house, The Hill. Working with architect Thomas Mawson he went on to build this long Pergola. Started in 1904 it came to fruition in 1905 before being extended in 1911 as more land was available. It was built using vast tonnage of earth that had come out of the Hampstead Heath tunnel for the Northern Line!

The pergola itself is a photgraphic dream - more of that to come - but the view over the Hill Garden is beautiful and tranquil. If you don't know it, then it's time for a sunday walk...