The Hampstead Pubs & Heath Walk

Greater London, United Kingdom

50 tickets 3.4 km · about 1 hr 40 mins · 10 stops · Standard walk How Walking Tickets work

Food & DrinkParks & GardensFamous ResidentsArt & Culture

This walk explores Hampstead as a hillside retreat where village lanes, the Heath, and old taverns drew Londoners for centuries. It traces the area’s rise from a fashionable eighteenth-century escape to a nineteenth-century haven for artists, writers, and lively conversation. Along the way, it links pubs like The Holly Bush, The Flask, and The Duke of Hamilton with places such as Whitestone Pond, showing how Hampstead kept its distinctive village character.

The stops

01
The Holly Bush
One of Hampstead’s best-known historic pubs, strongly tied to the area’s long tradition of taverns that drew writers, painters, and local residents into the same sociable space.
02
The Flask, Hampstead
The Flask is a Grade II listed public house at 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, on the site from where the trade in Hampstead mineral water was run, and which is mentioned in the eighteenth-century novel Clarissa.
03
Wells Tavern, Hampstead
The Wells Tavern is a Grade II listed public house at 30 Well Walk, Hampstead, London.
04
Burgh House and Hampstead Museum
A strong local-history stop that reveals how Hampstead remembers its famous residents, old lanes, and cultural evolution.
05
The Duke of Hamilton
The Duke of Hamilton is one of the oldest pubs in London, England. It is located in New End street in Hampstead.
06
Jack Straws Castle
A legendary former pub site on the edge of the heath, part of the folklore and social geography of Hampstead’s drink-and-walk culture.
07
The Old Bull and Bush
The Old Bull and Bush is a Grade II listed public house at North End near Hampstead Heath in London, which gave its name to the music hall song "Down at the Old Bull and Bush", sung by Florrie Forde. It is located on North End Way.
08
Whitestone Pond
A familiar Hampstead gathering point where the transition from town to heath has drawn walkers, residents, and well-known local figures over time.
09
Fenton House
A historic house with famous collections and gardens, revealing how Hampstead became a refuge for cultivated lives and legacies.
10
Romney's House
Romney's House at 5 Holly Bush Hill, Hampstead, Camden, London was the home of the artist George Romney and then of the architect Clough Williams-Ellis. It is a Grade I listed building.