Hi girls,
Happy Sunday! Whatever you got up to this weekend I hope you had fun.
Personally, I was at Lambeth Country Show on Saturday and then went to a Cider Festival with 100 different ciders all made in the UK – it was awesome!
Today I was thinking about how to spend your Sundays in London in the Summer. One of my favourite things to do is visit Hampstead Heath which is only a 10 minute walk from my house (lucky gal I know). I have a picnic hamper from John Lewis which is just adorable and includes cutlery, plates, bottle opener, wine cooler, 4 matching tumblers – everything you’d need for a perfect picnic.
So today, my boyfriend (Sam) and I did just that. We made sandwiches and got other snacks from our supermarket, packed it all in the hamper and off we went. We felt rather extra it just being the two of us but we don’t care, it was actually quite romantic (a great idea for a date if anyone needs one!).
The Heath is huge which is great as you can usually find a spot that is quiet and away from other people to really relax in. To get to the Heath you can either use Hampstead tube station (Northern Line Zone 2) or Hampstead Heath Overground station. You won’t forget the great views across London either, we could see BT Tower and the Shard from where we were sitting. The Heath is also famous for it’s Hampstead swimming ponds but personally I’ve never been (despite living in the area for 4 years). When it’s actually a warm day, the queues are huge and personally I’d prefer to be lying down in the sun and relaxing rather than queuing for 2 hours (that’s not an exaggeration).
After our lunch and chill in the sun, we took a walk to Hampstead village. Hampstead High St is a lovely road with Hampstead tube at the top of the hill and runs all the way down until you get to Belsize Park (also a lovely village, similar to Hampstead and Primrose Hill). Hampstead has a lot of great shops; Maje, Oliver Bonas, Sandro etc, to browse in (most of the time I can only window shop as I’m too tempted to buy inside!) but it also has great London architecture too; gorgeous Georgian houses are my personal favourite. There are fabulous people-watching cafes as well and a lot of restaurants (local ones as well as chains). One of my favourite cafe’s is Gail’s Bakery (a small chain in London) that sells THE best sausage rolls ever and great coffee also. Hampstead is also famous for it’s pubs as anyone from North London will know. The Flask, just off Hampstead High St is one that does a great English Sunday roast – yum yum! Or The Spaniards Inn (another great roast) at the top of the Heath which is very dog friendly and great dog-watching if you’re obsessed with dogs as Sam and I are.
So next time you find yourself with a free Sunday, take a trip to Hampstead for sun bathing, picnics, shopping or stuffing your face with Yorkshire puddings!
Lots of love, xxx
It’s A Girl Thing 