Best View of London

 

From LCC News 01/07

Highgate Hill N6

(Nearest tube Archway)

The steep ascent up Highgate Hill is one to test nearly every city dwellers calf muscles. As I reach a midway point I can't help but wish that the first cable car in Europe, built between Archway and the top of Highgate Hill, might creep up behind me. Alas, the last one to crawl up the hill was over a century ago, so the chance of this occurring seemed as slim as that of  Dick Turpin, who took "holidays" here from Essex,  riding up and asking me to join his Highway gang.

Beyond the lines of Georgian red brick housing that stretches down below you, the city looks alluring and mystical. It is easy to imagine Dick Whittington performing his statutory thigh slap, his plan to return cemented on hearing the bow bells chime.

Other highlights in Highgate include the cemetery - a visit to Karl Marx's grave, and perhaps if your brave enough, that of the recently deceased Alexander Litvinenko. This could be followed by some shepherd's pie with homemade bread, at The Bull on North Hill road.

Primrose Hill NW6

(Nearest tube Chalk Farm)

Just north of Regents Park, within earshot of the occasional mating cry from London Zoo, Primrose Hill offers a breathtaking view of London's emerging skyline.

As I reach the summit, I manage to refrain from letting out a Pongoesque howl into the wind. Instead I stand, slightly star struck, not at one of the "Primrose Hill Set", emerging bleary eyed from the bushes (admittedly your more likely to see Les Dennis than Kate Moss these days), but at the late afternoon sun bouncing back off the dome of St Paul's. It is easy to understand why anti-aircraft guns were positioned here in 1940, for its a truly panoramic view of our capital. Today, the towers of Canary wharf stride into town in the distance, and the Telecom tower looks like London's lynch pin, above the greenery of Regents Park in the foreground.

It is worth waiting for the sun to slip behind the hill, prompting the lights of the city to be switched on.

To complete your afternoon, a stroll through Chalk Farm, where the shops have managed to remain largely independent (Thanks in no small part to the husbands hedge fund or bloodline) The Sunday Roast at the Lock Tavern is a staple favourite  in this part of London. The Yorkshire pudding alone is worth the wait for the table, and the roast potatoes more than make up for the "too cool for school" locals.

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill, situated in the grounds of Hampstead heath, provides stunning views of London. The hill was famously referred to as, "traitors hill". During the English Civil war it was where the loyalists regrouped. Loyal to the English parliament, it is easy to understand why they chose this vantage point, with such intimate views of the capital.

This view is also believed to be the inspiration for many of Coleridge and Shelley's romantic prose, and was also regularly admired by Karl Marx on family picnics.

After your eyes have engraved the view to memory, a walk through the lanes just north of Hampstead heath tube could complete your afternoon.  Hidden amongst the leafy mansions is a gem of a public house, The Holly Bush.