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A Hampstead Odyssey

Join Dr Matthew Green on a mesmerising midsummer walk through palatial Hampstead, jewel in the crown of London’s lofty north, and climb the rugged Hearth for a panoramic tour of London from the top of Parliament Hill finishing with a tureen of Georgian gin punch.

  •  This one-off tour will take in gently-undulating terraces of exquisitely preserved Georgian houses, august millionaire’s mansions, some of the oldest and most characterful pubs in London, and the finest crêperie in London.
  • We will explore Keats’ house, the tombstone of the painter John Constable in the picturesque graveyard of St John’s, the 16th-century Spaniards’ Inn, the home of D. H. Lawrence, and the 18 Grade-1 Listed buildings in the High Street
  • Ceded “for the use of the public forever” by Parliament in 1872, you will discover the chequered and libidinous history of the Heath’s 800 wild acres, and learn how it has inspired artists and writers through the centuries, and became a zone of gay emancipation. 
  • Parliament Hill offers an unrivalled view of the splayed-out metropolis, and it is from this vantage point that Dr Green will narrate how London evolved from a walled, fortress-like medieval city into the “human awful wonder of God” glimmering below. 
  • The tureen of punch will be prepared from an authentic Georgian recipe and offer the appropriate opportunity to get know your fellow travellers and discuss aspects of the tour.