Hampstead Heath

It was such a beautiful morning that the only thing to do was, obviously, to go for a long walk on Hampstead Heath - which was stunningly autumnal, and managing to look just like an uncountable number of Victorian paintings.

But my real discovery was the Hill Gardens and The Pergola - which Lord Leverhulme decided to build at the bottom of his rather fine gardens, in 1904 - with the garden architect Thomas Mawson.  It does rather render our own garden revamp - what should I say? - modest.  This may have become my new favorite place in London ...

There was a music video shoot going on, of course - made me feel as though I was (almost) back in LA.

I am sure that it's lovely in all seasons - I hope to come back at wisteria time - and the gardens below are beautiful, too.  

I then went down, past the wonderfully named, tucked away little street - or enclave - The Vale of Health - to the Viaduct, and Viaduct Pond, built by Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson in the mid 1840s.  Sir Thomas thought he'd build 28 large villas - surrounded by parkland (Dickens, among others, hated the idea) - so he constructed this viaduct across the swampy land so that they could be reached by road ... and then gave up, seemingly.  It's a viaduct to nowhere.  If you look very closely there's a fine grey heron in there.

I came off the Heath to walk down Well Road (complete with old mineral springs well), to check out where John Constable lived when he lived in Hampstead;

and then back by the churchyard where he's buried - a wonderfully Gothic churchyard - to pay my respects.

And finally, into the parish church of St John - another wonderful surprise. I guess I spend rather a lot of time seeking out the Victorian: this, built in the 1740s, was the antithesis, all white and spacious and like being inside a very tasteful wedding cake.  And I'd found out quite accidentally, earlier in the day, checking something about Hopkins, that GMH, Arthur, and Everard's father - Manley Hopkins - was a church warden here.  Who knew?