LONDON’S LEAFIEST, LOVELIEST LOOKOUT

Parliament Hill, London

If you’re the slightest bit susceptible to Mary Poppins-style romanticisations of London, a walk up Parliament Hill will convince you no sentimental portrayal is too much. Hampstead Heath, of which Parliament Hill is a lofty highlight, makes London living appear the most gracious form of existence ever conceived. Buildings on the skyline as magnificent as natural wonders; people as multifarious as wildflowers peaceably pursuing their various leisures – picnicking, game-playing, striding, swimming, jogging, kite-flying, canoodling; an inconceivably large extent of green, leafy loveliness all around you. Its 322ft (98m) summit might not have any Lake District hills worried, but the legally protected views it affords – taking in the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard and Gherkin and more – are utterly splendid. (They say Guy Fawkes planned to watch the destruction of the Palace of Westminster from here). Since 1888 the Hill has formed the eastern tranche of Hampstead Heath, together forming 320 hectares of parkland largely held in common – a grove of ancient peace, freedom and fraternity that makes a billionaire of every visitor.

PROTECTED VIEW Looking southeast toward St Paul’s and the useful orienting point of the soaring 1016ft (310m) Shard.

VILLAGE LIFE Highgate village, seen across the ponds, was once the Bishop of London’s hunting estate.