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| Sport and recreation
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us
Hampstead Heath is one of London’s
most popular open spaces, situated just four miles (six
kilometres) from Trafalgar Square. An island of beautiful
countryside, the magic of Hampstead Heath lies not only in its
rich mosaic of flora and fauna and extensive recreational
facilities, but also in its proximity and accessibility to
millions of people.
The City of London has managed all of Hampstead Heath,
apart from the Kenwood area, since 1989. Acquired by its
predecessors under various Acts of Parliament between 1871 and
1906, the Heath covers 791 acres (320 hectares) within two London
boroughs - Camden, 681 acres (276 hectares), and
Barnet, 110
acres (44 hectares). This total includes the 112 acres (45
hectares) at Kenwood which are maintained by
English
Heritage.
The Heath's landscape is varied with woodland, meadows,
fragments of heathland and strings of ponds along its valleys. With
its origins in former countryside, long-established features such
as hedgerows and ancient trees provide links with the past. The
range of wildlife is impressive for an urban site visited by so
many people. Kingfishers, reed warblers and all three species of
British woodpecker breed. Over 300 species of fungi have been
recorded and it is one of the best places in London to see a number
of species of bats.
The Heath is managed from the main staff yards at Parliament
Hill (covering East Heath and the area up to Kenwood) and Golders
Hill (covering Hampstead Heath Extension, Sandy Heath, the Hill
Garden and Pergola and West Heath). The Superintendent and
administrative staff are based near the Heath at Highgate.
Hampstead Heath - have your say!
A website
www.greenstat.org.uk has been set up to
record feedback and provide local residents with the
opportunity to comment on how open spaces nationwide are
managed and maintained. The City of London will be able
to access this information and compare results on Hampstead
Heath with other open spaces up and down the country.
We would very much welcome your involvement. Please visit
www.greenstat.org.uk and click on the London
region, where you will then see a list of organisations – please
chose ‘City of London’ which is conveniently located at the very
top of the page. You will then be asked to select whether you wish
to comment on the Service provided by City of London, or to comment
on a specific Open Space. If you select option 2 ‘Park or Open
Space’ you will be given a list of City of London open spaces to
comment on – please select ‘Hampstead Heath’ from this list and you
will then be taken through an online survey.
Consultation on the
management of Hampstead Heath
The City of London produced a draft
plan for the management of Hampstead Heath and sought the
views of the public on its vision and objectives during a
three-month consultation period in 2007. A full report and
extended executive summary of the findings of this
consultation period was produced by the Environment Council
and Resources for Change Ltd. (June 2007).
Download the full report (464kb)
Download the appendices (622kb)
Download the extended executive
summary (117kb)
Download the brief
summary (357kb)
In the light of this report and the comments made, the City of
London made changes to the draft plan. The final plan is available
to view via the link below.
Find out more and download the draft plan
Pedestrian and Cycle
Observation Study
The City of London commissioned consultants Intelligent Space
ATKINS to conduct a series of user surveys on Hampstead Heath
during the summer and autumn of 2007 in order to determine user
patterns, particularly of pedestrians and cycles, user demographics
and public opinion. They looked at the suitability of existing
routes and some suggested routes for pedestrians and cycles to
share. The aims of the Study reflect commitments made in the draft
Part I Hampstead Heath Management Plan. The Pedestrian and
Cycle Observation Study report was produced in December 2007.
Download the executive summary (4.1
mb)
Please email us at
hampstead.heath@cityoflondon.gov.uk
if you would like a disc of the full report posted to
you.
The closing date for comments on this document was 1 February
2008. The Hampstead Heath Management Committee considered these
comments and decided that further work should be undertaken by
specialist consultants to determine the feasibility of introducing
two of the suggested routes - Routes 1 and 7. All other suggested
routes have been rejected. There is also a need to consider how
some of the existing shared use routes can be improved.
Hampstead Heath has received the
Green Flag Award for ten consecutive years. The Award, run by
the Civic Trust,
is the national benchmark against which the quality of public
open space is measured. It recognises and awards the best
green spaces in the country. More information about the award
can be found on the
Green Flag Award
website.
News
and events
Hampstead Heath Diary (6.8mb)
Results of the 2007
Duathlon (84kb)
Proposed Dog Control Order (42kb)
Golders Hill Zoo
Newsletter (295kb)
Hampstead Heath whats new (125kb)
Visitor information
Introduce yourself to Hampstead
Heath: download the
Welcome leaflet (1mb)
View a map of the heath (432kb)
Study some of the trails around the Heath:
view a trail map (546kb) &
download the trail leaflet
(4.4mb)
View the Golders Hill Park opening
times (27kb)
View the Hill Garden (which includes the
Pergola) opening times (24kb)
Access for everyone (including the Mobility
Scheme) (145kb)
Plan your journey
with the Transport for London journey planner
Education programme
The Heath Life Education Service has a multi sensory classroom,
two teaching gardens and about 200 hectares of wild open space to
deliver engaging outdoor education sessions and events. Areas of
interest include wildlife studies, geography and mapping skills,
history and eco earth art.
Spring term schools education
programme (107kb)
Golders Hill Park education
programme (84kb)
Heath heritage
Within the Heath are at least 55 principal artefacts, monuments
and archaeological sites, all of which form a vital part of its
history and character. Overlooking the West Heath, the Pergola is
as long as Canary Wharf tower is tall. This Edwardian extravagance,
having fallen into disrepair, was restored by the City of London
and is once more a Heath highlight. The Tumulus is shrouded in
mystery; is it an ancient burial ground, the foundations of an old
windmill or a folly in the landscape? The Saxon ditch and adjacent
earth bank, which marked early ownership and administrative
boundaries, are known to have been present since at least AD986.
Parts of the Heath clearly show signs of past industry; Sandy
Heath, for example, is pocked with the hollows left by centuries of
sand-digging.
Download the Heath Heritage sheets, which are edited versions of
articles produced by Bob Hall, the Chairman of the Hampstead Heath
Mangement Committee, in his monthly column in the Hampstead and
Highgate Express:
The Pergola and Hill
Garden (1.16mb)
Sand digging on Hampstead
Heath (379kb)
Springs, ponds and
recreation (508kb)
Sport and recreation
The Heath is a popular open space for organised sport, with at
least 16 different sports taking place. Some have a high reputation
and profile; Hampstead Heath is traditionally regarded as the home
of British cross-country running. With a lack of open space in
surrounding boroughs and large local populations, the Heath has a
crucial role to play in providing sporting opportunities and
promoting good health. Recent developments include a re-laid 400
metre athletics track, a new pétanque pitch and new volleyball
facilities.
There are eight different areas for children's play. The
Parliament Hill playground has undergone an award-winning
refurbishment and seeks to challenge children, encouraging them to
take controlled risks in a safe environment. The Peggy Jay Centre
One O’clock Club provides an extremely popular facility for 5s and
under. The Adventure Playground offers programmed activities for
school groups and children on non-school days.
Many of the Heath's facilities are offered free or at very
reasonable prices.
Download sports charges and
information (54kb)
Angling
Angling on the Heath is allowed between 16 June and 14 March
inclusive at the Vale of Health, Viaduct, Mixed Bathing, Hampstead
No2, Model Boating and Men's Bathing ponds, providing swan cygnets
are not present. You will need a current Environment Agency rod
license to obtain a free annual fishing permit from the Parliament
Hill office near Highgate Road (or the nearby tennis hut at
weekends). City of London staff may ask to see your permit or rod
license and will be checking for compliance with the Hampstead
Heath Fishing Regulations.
Download the Fishing
Regulations (28kb)
Athletics
The Parliament Hill Athletics Track is categorised by UK
Athletics as Class 1 and includes a recently re-surfaced eight-lane
all-weather running track.
Download the Parliament Hill Athletics Track
regulations (45kb)
Cricket regulations
Cricket pitches and net facilities are available at Parliament
Hill and the Heath extension.
Download the cricket regulations
here (42kb)
Orienteering
The Hampstead Heath orienteering course ranges all over the
Heath and can be adapted for different levels of difficulty.
Orienteering maps and information are available from the Hampstead
Heath Athletics Track or can also be downloaded from the
London OK website.
Tennis
Hard courts are available at Parliament Hill and Golders Hill
Park. Grass courts are available at Golders Hill park from April to
September, turf permitting.
Tennis coaching is available for adults and children during the
summer, with qualified LTA coaches. Download PDFs here:
Tennis coaching courses for
adults (51kb)
Tennis coaching courses for
children (51kb)
Application form for tennis coaching
courses (67kb)
Guide to tennis skills levels for coaching
courses (37kb)
Running
Find out how to
Start running on Hampstead Heath
(1.2mb)
Short: 2km/1.25 miles in yellow
Medium: 3km/1.9 miles in green
Long: 5km/3.1 miles in red
View the suggested running routes
(145kb)
Swimming
Open-air swimming on the Heath is
long-established and takes place at the Men’s Pond, the
Ladies’ Pond, the Mixed Pond and the Lido. The swimming ponds
are internationally famous. The Men’s Pond and the Ladies’
Pond are unique in the United Kingdom in being the only
life-guarded open-water swimming facilities open to the public
every day of the year. The Lido is a 60 x 27 metre uncovered
swimming pool at Parliament Hill.
Telephone 020 7485 5757 for enquiries about the Lido.
View details of swimming facilities on Hampstead
Heath (1.23mb)
View the cold water swimming guidelines
(22kb)
View latest bathing water quality results for
the three bathing ponds (132kb)
Latest news...
Books of
ten tickets, for the price of nine, are now available for swimming
at the Lido .
Temperature of water at swimming
facilities...
Lido: 18°C; Mixed Pond: 16°C; Ladies' Pond: 17°C;
Men's Pond: 16°C, as at 8 May 2008.
This information will updated at least once a week throughout the
summer.
Further information about management work affecting the Heath's
ponds can be found in the Conservation
section.
Events and activities
A full events programme takes place throughout the year and
includes jazz concerts, fishing teach-ins, fun fairs and children’s
summer entertainments. Regular guided walks and nature-spotting
events are also organised.
Download the Heath and Hampstead Society
Hampstead Heath walks programme 2008-09(83kb)
Download help
Photos at the Lido
A collection of photographs celebrating the sights and sounds of
the Parliament Hill Lido is currently on display there. In Lido
Life, local photographer Ruth Corney charts recent times at the
Grade II listed pool, including its recent £2.9million renovation
with a selection of underwater shots that show off the Lido’s new
stainless steel lining with its wonderful reflective qualities.
Management and
consultation
The interim Hampstead Heath Management Plan 2006/08 and the
current annual works programme are available to download here.
Download the interim Hampstead Heath Management
Plan 2006/08 (5.3mb)
Download the annual works
programme (2.4mb)
Consultation
The City of London sees consultation as a vital part of
effective management of the Heath, working closely with local
organisations which are represented on the Heath's Management and
Consultative Committees, and meeting regularly with the Heath and
Hampstead Society and English Heritage.
Ongoing dialogue with Heath users has reinforced the message
that people value the Heath and want it maintained broadly as it
is. The management plan reflects this and outlines how active
management is essential to maintain and enhance the nature
conservation, landscape and amenity interest of Hampstead
Heath.
In 2001 the City of London invited the Greater London
Authority's Strategy Directorate to produce a report indicating
management techniques suitable for the Heath's woodland, scrub and
hedgerows. The Heath Management Committee acknowledged that this
document added important detail to the Management Plan. During the
winter of 2001/2002 staff begun implementing the suggestions on
small woodland areas of the Heath. The aim is to increase the
beauty as well as the nature conservation and amenity value of our
woodlands by use of proven management techniques. The woodland
management report complements the grassland management report
produced in 2000.
Conservation
The City of London's dedicated
conservation staff aim to maintain and extend the Heath's
status as one of London's best places for wildlife. In
addition to its 25 main ponds, the Heath has areas of
woodland, bog, hedgerows and grassland. Recent work by the
City of London and the
Heath
Hands volunteers has reinstated small areas of the rare
heathland habitat which gives Hampstead Heath its name. On
both sides of Spaniards Road heather flowers now provide a
burst of late summer colour.
2001 saw the welcome return of breeding
kingfishers, which made use or a sand-bank specially constructed to
offer them a suitable nest site. The City of London faces the
difficult task of encouraging hands-on contact with wildlife,
whilst protecting the integrity of the Heath's nature resource.
Want to get involved? Click here to visit the Heath Hands site.
Managing the Heath's ponds
Managing the Heath's ponds in
2006 (128kb)
Hydrology study of the
Heath (1.6mb)
October 2006 update on blue-green algae at the
Men's Bathing Pond (103kb)
Car parking facilities
Hampstead Heath has a number of car parks, the locations of
which are identified on our
downloadable map. The car parks are open
between 7.30am and 8.30pm daily.
Car parking charges:
Up to 2 hours - £1.50
2-4 hours - £3
every hour thereafter - £3
Parking with a valid disabled persons blue badge is free of
charge.
Fees can be paid by cash, credit or debit card (American
Express, MasterCard, Visa or Delta) Coins accepted; 20p, 50p, £1
and £2. Wheel clamping will be in operation, with a release fee of
£65. Vehicles not claimed after 24 hours will be removed with a
release fee of £150, and £25 per day storage fees.
Parking on Hampstead Heath FAQ (30kb)
Problems?
If you notice any faults - such as damaged signs, fences or
stiles, fly-tipping, excessive litter or obstructions on footpaths
you can report them and track
progress online.
Contact us
You can contact us at the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath,
City of London, Heathfield House, 432 Archway Road, London, N6 4JH
or email
hampstead.heath@cityoflondon.gov.uk