Golders Hill Park Best Bits
London's Secret Garden
The first time I visited the Hill Garden and Pergola was entirely by accident, which I hear is not uncommon. Out for a walk one day from Hampstead Heath to explore a bit of London I knew little about, I wandered into Golders Hill Park in search of a toilet, which I acknowledge is a bit of an odd way to uncover one of London’s most wonderful, hidden gems, but there it is.
And while I did eventually find one, my stumble through what seemed at the time like the deepest, darkest bit of forest in one of the world’s biggest cities opened up to a vast Edwardian garden, a stately home and several extremely high-class fashion shoots going on around every other corner of this sprawling monument.
Aside from its popularity with Vogue cover models (not pictured under pain of having my camera disassembled by a pair of very well-dressed henchmen), this covered garden is a fairly secretive location, well off the beaten path and certainly worth a visit.
Completely free to enter and usually quite empty, the Pergola is also a favourite destination for young lovers looking for a bit of privacy.
Around another corner, as I meandered through the maze of stonework and vegetation, I found myself about to interrupt an awkwardly timed marriage proposal.
Quickly ducking away, the reason for this became obvious as I discovered further the organised chaos of dangling vines and violent rose bushes barging their way between pillars and benches.
Their reach extended out onto an elevated walkway and down the other side into a well-kept pond of fish and lilies to conjure the sort of fairy tale sensation we lost when we stopped watching Disney films all those years ago.
In a word, romantic.
Once I decided I'd had enough romance for one day, The Old Bull and Bush pub just across the road on North End Way became the perfect way to come back down to reality. To remind myself that I am, in fact, still in London, that fairy tales are for children and young lovers. I'll be back, though, and hopefully with a friend.
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