Hampstead

Erin and I recently took advantage of a nice and sunny London Saturday and grabbed the Northern Line up to Hampstead to check out what is described as a village within the city. We arrived, walked around the city and poked into random markets, gourmet food shops, pubs and art dealers. The town center does indeed have a village feel to it and its worth exploring for a day if in London for an extended visit. Nearby Hampstead Heath park is also a relaxing escape that all visitors should take a walk through. There is a building on the massive park that was supposed to have a highly touted restaurant/cafe. However, it was closed for repair and replaced by a less exciting sandwich kiosk. Hopefully it'll open back up this summer. 

We of course made our way to two different pubs during the day to break up all the walking around the village and park. The first pub we went to was the Spainard's Inn and had a pint of Hooegarden and cloudy cider. The bar has been around since 1585 and is on the street that bisects the park on the way to the main building in the park. It is definitely on the tourist map (rightfully so). There is a huge beer garden in the back for warm summer days.

This is the park very close to the village center with great views of London in the distance. It's a great place to escape the city and enjoy the fresh air. 

The second pub we made it to was the Holly Bush, a brilliant pub up the hill from the tube stop with a great selection of beer on tap (Fuller's selection I believe, but they have some good alternatives to London Pride). The pub was one of the best we've sipped at since coming to London and I highly recommend it.