P and I took a little trip up to Hampstead the other day, and wandered through the Heath. I wanted to see the park as all the leaves turned colors, and we were having a bit of a staycation, so we thought, why not! Camera in tow, we headed first to
Kenwood House, which I was particularly keen to visit again. I'd been before, but it was cold and wet, and not the greatest of days for exploring. Plus, I love all of these historical properties that exist around the UK, and my exploring wishlist is rather long!
Kenwood house is beautiful, and immaculately decorated. It was the former home of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the subject of the 2013 film
Belle, which I am very much a fan of. Belle lived at Kenwood House with her great uncle Lord Mansfield, as the daughter of his nephew. As a bi-racial woman in that time (her father was in the British Navy and her mother was a slave), it would have been an unusual set of circumstances for her. Her father's bloodline allowed her certain privileges, and her mother's bloodline dictated the opposite. I admit that it was the film that prompted me to go up to Kenwood House, to see the place where such an interesting character spent much of her life.
Kenwood House sits on one edge of the Heath, so from there it was easy to explore the rest of the park. The leaves were turning beautiful shades of orange and red. I was a bit worried that our day would be cut short, since it started raining as we walked through Kenwood House, but as we left, the sun came out! We wandered though the Heath up to Parliament Hill and then made our way home for a nice cup of tea.
