A raised Edwardian pergola draped in wisteria and climbing roses, hovering above a formal garden on the western edge of Hampstead Heath, one of London's most breathtaking hidden spaces.
Leverhulme died in 1925 before the Pergola was fully complete. The estate was subsequently acquired by the London County Council and eventually became part of Hampstead Heath's public estate. The garden and Pergola are now managed by the City of London Corporation.
The climbing plants that define the Pergola's character, wisteria, roses, jasmine, clematis, ornamental vines, were established over several decades of maintained planting. The largest wisteria specimens are now over 80 years old; their trunks are as thick as a human wrist.
What the Pergola Looks Like
The Pergola is an elevated walkway approximately 250 metres long, carried on stone pillars above a formal garden at a height of approximately 2.5 metres. Walking along the Pergola in May, when the wisteria is in full flower, is an experience that requires no particular aesthetic framework to appreciate: purple cascades hanging at eye level on both sides, a scent that carries 20 metres, and light filtered through the canopy overhead.
In June, the roses take over: rambling roses established on the pergola's wooden cross-beams have been trained over decades into a dense canopy of red, white, and pink. The combination of the stone columns, the wooden framework, the sky above, and the gardens below produces an architectural and horticultural effect that is largely absent from London's gardens, the scale is different from a normal garden; the height gives a perspective that most ornamental gardens cannot replicate.
Harriet Moss, a garden designer who lives in Hampstead, brings clients to the Pergola when they are planning their own gardens. "I use it to show people what climbing plants can do at scale," she said. "The wisteria alone is worth the visit every May, but the real lesson is the structure. Mawson built this to carry plants that would eventually weigh several tonnes. Most garden structures fail because they underestimate that weight. This one was built right, and a hundred years later it still is."
The Formal Garden Below
The Pergola sits above a formal garden on a hillside terrace, lawns, herbaceous borders, and a pond at the lower level. The garden is less spectacular in midwinter but has a structural quality in any season: the shape of the terraces, the proportions of the planting areas, and the relationship between the upper Pergola and the lower garden reward attention regardless of what is flowering.
In summer, the borders at the garden's lower level are planted with seasonal perennials that provide colour and structure below the climbing plants of the Pergola above. The combination of vertical and horizontal planting, formal structure and naturalistic planting, creates a garden that looks designed from every viewpoint.
The pond at the garden's lowest point is small but provides a reflective surface in still conditions that amplifies the light of early morning. This is the best time to visit for photography: the garden in morning light, before other visitors arrive, with the Pergola reflected in the pond surface below.
The Elevated Walkway and Views
The upper level of the Pergola, accessible via stone steps at each end, gives views across the West Heath and south toward the City of London. The BT Tower, St Paul's, and the Shard are visible on clear days; in early morning before heat haze builds, the view extends further than most of Hampstead Heath's elevated points.
The elevated walkway is wider than the enclosed garden below and has a more exposed quality. On breezy days in autumn, when the leaves are changing on the surrounding trees, the walkway gives the most dramatic version of the garden's character.
Visiting in Every Season
May: Wisteria
The wisteria at the Hill Garden peaks in early to mid-May. The timing varies by a week or two each year depending on spring temperatures; in a warm spring, the first flowers open in late April. At peak flowering, the Pergola is unlike any other place in London, the density and fragrance of the flowers, and the scale of the structure they grow on, produces an effect that even practised garden visitors describe as exceptional.
Visit on a weekday morning; weekend afternoons in May bring significant crowds.
June: Roses
The rambling roses follow the wisteria. Peak rose flowering is typically second to third week of June. The roses are on the upper Pergola structure and create a different effect from the wisteria, less dramatic in single-point impact, more varied in colour and texture.
September and October: Autumn
The climbing vines that cover the Pergola columns turn before the deciduous trees of the Heath, orange and gold appear on the structure itself in late September, giving the columns a gilded quality in afternoon light.
Winter
The garden loses most of its flowering plants but gains structural clarity. The stone columns without their covering of leaves are visible as architecture; the geometry of the formal garden terraces is clearer. In frost, the garden is photographically exceptional.
Getting There
From Hampstead Underground: Walk west along Heath Street and continue on North End Way. The gate to the Hill Garden is on the right after approximately 15 minutes. The entrance is on North End Way (NW3) and is easy to miss, a modest gate between residential houses.
From Golders Green: Walk south along North End Way from the junction with Hampstead Way. The garden entrance is on the left after approximately 10 minutes.
Through the Heath: From the West Heath, accessible from the Whitestone Pond car park on North End Way, the Hill Garden is a 5-minute walk south. This approach, across open heath, is less direct but more pleasant in good weather.
By Car: Limited parking on North End Way. The Whitestone Pond car park (pay and display) is the best option.
Combining with Other Hampstead Visits
The Hill Garden sits at the meeting point of several natural visit combinations:
The Spaniards Inn: A 10-minute walk north along North End Way brings you to the Spaniards Inn at the Heath's northern edge, one of London's oldest pubs, with an excellent kitchen and a garden. A morning at the Pergola followed by lunch at the Spaniards is a complete North London day.
Kenwood House: From the Hill Garden, a 25-minute walk northeast through the Heath reaches Kenwood's Neoclassical villa and its free art collection, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough. The walk takes you through ancient woodland and across the East Heath, passing the Kenwood Ladies' Pond.
Parliament Hill and the view: Walking southeast from the Hill Garden, across the West Heath to Parliament Hill, takes approximately 35 minutes and ends at the Heath's most celebrated viewpoint over London. This circuit, Hill Garden Parliament Hill Hampstead Village, is one of the more satisfying Heath walks and works in either direction.
Practical Information
Entry: Free. No booking required.
Opening times: Daily from 8:30am to dusk. Dusk times vary seasonally from approximately 4pm in December to 9pm in June. The garden is not lit; arrival before dusk is advisable.
Best time to visit: Weekday mornings, particularly May (wisteria) and June (roses).
Photography: Freely permitted. The best positions are the elevated walkway for panoramic views and the pond reflection in early morning.
Dogs: Welcome. Leads required in the formal garden areas; dogs may be off-lead on the adjoining West Heath.
Accessibility: The Pergola's elevated walkway has steps at each end and is not wheelchair accessible. The lower formal garden terraces have some stepped elements; the main lawn area is accessible on a flat path from the garden entrance.
The Hill Garden and Pergola is what the best London spaces do: sit in plain sight, free of charge, largely unknown to the mass of visitors who come to the city and see its famous attractions. The Pergola has been here for over a century. The wisteria that flowers on it every May was planted before most of the current city was built. That continuity, the sense that this place will be here long after you have visited, is part of what makes the visit feel, unusually for a city experience, genuinely valuable.
