walk/tour
Outside Hampstead Tube Station, NW3 1QG
what3words: never.belts.angle
The walk will offer new perspectives on the history of Hampstead by exploring what has changed, disappeared, or been imagined, through social changes, by architects and town planners, and creatively by artists, writers, radicals and poets. During the walk we will uncover forgotten stories in Hampstead's history and the fascinating ways in which these have left their mark on the local area.
Belsize Park, Hampstead
Hampstead Heath
210, 24, 268, 46
The walk will start at Hampstead tube and finish at Hampstead Heath Overground Station (10 minutes walk to Belsize Park Tube)
Primarily downhill walk, with seating along the way, and a stop for drinking water and toilets
This tour – ‘Hampstead Vanished and Imagined’ – is thematic and expands the ideas in the exhibition of the same name currently on display at Burgh House Hampstead. Themes will include stories of empire, migration, radicalism and creativity.
Woven into the walk will be the creative imaginings of Hampstead by artists such as John Constable, Ford Madox Brown and Mark Gertler, and women whose stories are less often heard.
Stories to explore include Hampstead’s time as a flourishing spa; the expansion of the railways, when East Enders flocked to the Bank Holiday fairs and the green spaces of Hampstead Heath; the bohemian artistic and intellectual community of the twentieth century, including many refugees from the Nazis.
Using the ideas of ‘vanished’ and ‘imagined’ as starting points, the walk will encourage participants to think about how communities change and develop, and also exist in the imagination.
The route will be from Hampstead Tube Station down to Hampstead Heath Station. The walk will be at a leisurely pace, with frequent stops, and covering about a mile in all.
The Golden Key Academy is a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life. This tour is part of a wider collection of tours created by Golden Key Academy guides for the Open House Festival celebrating their conclusion of the eight month course.
Further information on the Golden Key Academy can be found here https://open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy
If you would like to attend this tour, please ensure you have booked a ticket before turning up.
