The Ponds & Woodland Circuit

This is the walk for anyone who wants the quiet, shaded side of the Heath rather than the big views. Three kilometres, an hour at a gentle pace, takes in all three bathing ponds on the east of the Heath, the ancient mixed woodland above them, and finishes at Parliament Hill Lido — a 1938 art-deco outdoor pool that still operates as a public swimming pool year-round. Start at Gospel Oak overground station (eight minutes on the line from Hampstead Heath, or a ten-minute walk from Hampstead proper). Head north past the athletics track and pick up the east side of the Men's Pond. These ponds are not ornamental — they are seventeenth-century reservoirs that once supplied the New River system into central London. The Men's Pond on your left has been in continuous use for swimming since at least 1846 and costs around £4.75 for a dip; the changing hut on the eastern side is staffed by lifeguards year-round. Continue north, keeping the water on your left, and the path climbs into the woodland above the Ladies' Pond. This stretch of woodland is some of the oldest on the Heath — a mix of oak, hornbeam, and beech, with a dense understorey of holly that stays green through winter and gives the path a closed, intimate feel. If you are walking in April or May, the bluebells here are as good as any in the South East. The path flattens out on the ridge and drops you into the Kenwood boundary. Rather than going into Kenwood, take the south-facing path that cuts back through the Vale of Health — a hidden pocket of eighteenth-century cottages built on a drained area of the Heath, once a fever-ridden swamp until landowner Samuel Hoare cleared it in 1777. D. H. Lawrence lived here briefly in 1915; Rabindranath Tagore in 1912. The descent from the Vale of Health swings east around the Mixed Pond (mixed bathing, same operator, same price) and finally deposits you at Parliament Hill Lido on the south-east corner of the Heath. The lido holds 28,000 gallons of unheated filtered water, opened in 1938, and was Grade II listed in 1999 for its streamline-modern architecture. Members of the Hampstead Heath Winter Swimming Club swim here 365 days a year. Non-members can pay by the session; entry is around £9, cheaper for off-peak. From the lido, Gospel Oak station is a five-minute walk south, or you can cut through to South End Green for buses and cafes. Best time: late spring mornings for the bluebells, or clear winter days if you want to see the ice cutters at the lido. Avoid Sunday afternoons in summer. Wear waterproof footwear outside the summer months — the woodland section stays muddy long after the paths have dried out.

Highlights

• Three bathing ponds
• Ancient mixed woodland
• Lido
• Bird sanctuary

Route Map

Route Waypoints

1. 1

   Gospel Oak Station

   Overground station, NW5 1NE

2. 2

   Lido

   Open-air swimming pool, open May–September

3. 3

   Mixed Pond

   Open year-round swimming

4. 4

   Men's Pond

   Dawn swimming popular in winter

5. 5

   Ladies' Pond

   Women only, beautiful woodland setting

6. 6

   Bird Sanctuary Pond

   Nature reserve, no swimming

7. 7

   Gospel Oak Station

   Return

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