WhampWalks
Take advantage of West Hampstead’s great transport connections and get out of town. These walks all start and end somewhere that’s accessible from West Hampstead without changing train, tube or bus. One journey there, one back. Got an idea for a WhampWalk? Let us know.
St Pancras to Canary Wharf
This half-day walk takes in a part of London undergoing massive regeneration, along a waterway that changed the city. Stay along the canal or break up the journey and explore different areas along the way: Kings Cross, Islington, City Road, Victoria Park, Millennium Park, Limehouse & Canary Wharf. Factbox ¦ Route map (full size)¦ Photo […]
Elstree & Borehamwood to Stanmore
This short six-mile jaunt from Hertfordshire back into London takes in a sailing club, horses, a stunningly rich private street, the former headquarters of Fighter Command, a ruined church and – the undoubted highlight – the chance to walk alongside the M1. Stick with me people. Factbox ¦ Route map (full size)¦ Photo gallery Elstree […]
Chelsea to Richmond
“This is the 328 to Chelsea, World’s End”. We’ve all heard the announcement, but how many of you have ridden the bus all the way to the end of the world? It’s just over an hour from West End Lane but a good start to this 12 mile walk that takes in two rivers, the […]
Welsh Harp & Fryent Country Park
Our first (half) day out, is a late summer six-mile ramble through Brent and Barnet that starts just six minutes from West Hampstead! On this Sunday afternoon, we watched swans corralling signets in Welsh Harp reservoir, discovered Brent’s oldest building, ate a wild apple, and still couldn’t avoid spotting the Shard. Factbox ¦ Route map […]
What have you missed since March 26th?
Hello. Today’s final “What have you missed…” comes from both Mark and Jonathan. Why? Sadly, this is the end. WHL has been going for nine years, but all good things etc. etc. We explain all (including what’s happening to the mailing list – don’t worry, we’re not selling your data!) We’ll both be at a […]
Local elections 2018: The candidates
The local elections are on May 3rd. This is when you get the chance (and “you” includes EU citizens) to vote for three councillors for the ward you live in. All the ward councillors who are elected form Camden council (or Brent council for those of you the other side of the Kilburn High Road). […]
Is West Hampstead due an £8 million Liddell Road windfall?
Liddell Road – a school, some office space and apartments. It was a controversial scheme when it went through planning a few years ago, with Camden acting as developer and approver. There was much talk of how the numbers added up and why there was to be virtually no affordable housing. Three years on, some […]
Tom enjoys some good kombunations at Ham
Finally it was my time to sample Ham, the new upmarket restaurant on West End Lane, which arrived to plenty of interest, and with a chef with a reputation. Ham kindly invited me to try it out and the welcome from David and the team was very warm. We gazed around at the interior, with […]
George Rose: Death in the Caribbean
Actor George Rose travelled an unusual path from Bicester to Broadway. He lived in West Hampstead for the best part of a decade while he learned his craft from great actors and directors such as Tyrone Guthrie, Laurence Olivier, Peter Brook and John Gielgud. And after a very successful career on the stage, he died […]
The artist and the punks of West Hampstead
In April 1977, Tony Drayton moved to London from Cumbernauld, a new town in Scotland between Glasgow and Edinburgh. From 1976 to 1979, Tony was the editor of the early punk zine, Ripped and Torn. He lived in London, Paris, and Amsterdam and had a very varied career, including fire eating. In the summer of […]
An Insight with: Ellias from David’s Deli
One of the pleasures of writing West Hampstead Life is writing these Insights during which we get to know some familiar West Hampstead faces a bit better, behind the facade even. This month’s is no exception as we caught up with Ellias from David’s Deli. We all know him as Ellias, in fact his full […]
Five Mother’s Day presents from West Hampstead
Seaching for a present for your mother (or the mother of your kids, or whoever you want to express your gratitude to)? We have been searching the snowy streets of West Hampstead for inspiration (and bagged you a couple of discounts along the way!) First stop, a WHL favourite, Achillea Flowers on Mill Lane. It […]
An Insight on Lately: Gordon Stevenson tells all
Regular readers will know that West Hampstead nightclub Lately has closed after almost 40 years. We met up with owner Gordon Stevenson. What brought you to West Hampstead? “Buying Lately, that’s what! I opened it 38 years ago after I was offered the club by a friend. Previously it was a called Vincent’s but had […]
Overground redevelopment (just about) on track
It’s been a year since the redevelopment of the Overground station started in earnest and it’s taking a while. Inevitable, as TfL chose (wisely) to keep the station open during the works, even though that also means higher cost. For those of us using the station, it’s been impossible to miss the arrival of the […]
No step closer to step-free access for West Hampstead tube station
Many local organisations have been pushing for step-free access to West Hampstead tube station over the past few years – even if opinion diverges on what the solution should be. It was therefore disappointing, as local residents association WHGARA pointed out recently, that West Hampstead was not included in the recent batch of stations to […]
West Hampstead passengers top 20 million a year
As long-suffering commuters in (and through) West Hampstead are aware, it’s feels ever more crowded at our stations – especially the tube station. But do the numbers back up that perception? We crunched the numbers, and we were surprised at the results. The line up to "tap" on at WH underground. A temporary 1 tap […]
Raising the roof on the student housing block
The new owner of the student housing block on Blackburn Road, has put in a planning application to add 41 additional rooms (studios) to the block buy adding extra floors on top. The development already has 347 units and has already been given planning permission to add an extension to the internal courtyard and a […]
A walk up West End Lane
Following our recent walk down the Kilburn High Road, we took a similar walk up West End Lane. Joining us was John Saynor, chair of WHAT (West Hampstead Amenity and Transport), which takes a keen interest in these matters too. We didn’t really focus on the litter situation, because – dare I say it – […]
Luxury retirement development ‘can’t afford’ to pay for affordable housing
West Hampstead is facing yet another large-scale property development. It’s the third proposal to redevelop the site at the former Gondar Gardens reservoir. The history of the previous proposals have been well documented on these pages, but what really caught our eye about this one was that it offers no affordable housing either on-site or as […]
It’s Snowest Hampstead!
The Beast from the East Arrived. West Hampstead got photographing. It all kicked off on Monday with the first flakes of snow. It’s chilly out there people of #westhampstead. Wrap up warm. pic.twitter.com/7p9s1UaT5o — West Hampstead Life (@WHampsteadLife) February 26, 2018 And we woke on Wednesday to this… Good morning #WestHampstead @WHampstead ?????? #snowday #BeastfromEast […]
Council tax is going up by 4.99% and here’s why
Last night Camden accepted the recommendation that council tax bills will rise, a decision that will be ratified at full Council on the 26th. For the second year running, it will rise by 4.99%, an increase comprised of a 2.99% council-tax increase and an ‘Adult Social Care’ precept of 2%’. Average Camden band D council tax […]
House collapses on Sumatra Road
At midday on a quiet Monday, Sumatra Road was shaken (literally) when the walls collapsed on a house undergoing renovation. At the time of the collapse, first tweeted by Chris Simpson, there were builders in the house, 163 Sumatra Road, but they saw ‘the writing on the wall’ when large cracks appeared and were able to […]