Hampstead Heath

An easy 15-minute walk from Swiss Cottage gets you to Hampstead Heath. The Heath is a 3.2 km² of parkland with lakes, hills and wooded vales, north of central London. At the southern end of the park is Parliament Hill, a 95 metre summit with views extending across the city. This afternoon I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather to finally visit this neighbourhood sight.

The view from Parliament Hill was wonderful. A late-afternoon sun gave the city a golden glow, glinting from the dome of St Pauls Cathedral and the ever prominent BT Tower. Canary Wharf was easy to spot, as was London Eye and the Gherkin (officially known as 30 St Mary Axe - another building designed by reknown British architect, Norman Foster - the man behind Hong Kong's stunning airport terminal).

I was surprised to see how much the new Emirates Stadium dominates the South-east skyline. This enormous structure opened in July this year and is home to Arsenal Football Club. It's located at Highbury, south of the Thames River, seats more than 60,000 people and was built at a cost of £390 million. It replaced a smaller stadium accommodating 38,000. The architects, HOK Sport, also designed Sydney's Telstra Stadium.


I clearly wasn't the only person keen to watch the sunset from Parliament Hill. A large crowd had gathered making for an informal, but festive atmosphere. Plenty of couples were huddled on park henches, clearly seeking a romantic moment. With temperatures rapidly falling below 6°C, a toasty log fire seemed far more romantic to me.

Perhaps the most unusual landmark in the area is a non-descript circular white building near Belsize Underground station. Earlier this year I discovered that this was the entrance to a Deep Level Air-Raid Shelter built during the Second World War. It was designed to house up to 9,600 people, and was subsequently maintained during the 1950s in the event of a nuclear attack. Yet another small reminder that we're not in sunny, safe Australia any more.

Sunset on Parliament Hill