A walk in the park

We gathered at the Hampstead Heath Museum for a guided walk called "reading the landscape". It was taken by the author David McDowell who has written walking books including the Heath and Richmond Park.

In a very geological minded walk we discovered that 60 million years ago this part of the world was under the ocean, which is why so much sand sits next to the London Clay, and that pebbles washed up were from a giant river that flowed from Devonshire 40 million years ago.



Interspersed were some interesting stories about how the landscape was cut away from the heath to make bricks (1860 circa) or how the viaduct was to be the start of a handsome avenue but the good members of the public who wanted to keep the heath as it was stopped this by some canny land purchases which prevented drainage. All quite dry yet interesting information. We found parts of the Heath we had never seen, but as we should, stopped into a pub at the end!(NB This is an awesome pub but you have to book for sunday roasts! (imagine!) we got a seat but watched many people leave dissapointed.