Primrose Hill

What it’s like

A grassy hill with skyline views over London, a café for a warm drink, and space to spread a picnic blanket for free.

This is a hill you walk up rather than a venue you visit, and that's the whole point. Get to the top and you've got one of the better skyline views going, the kind you can pick out landmarks from without paying anyone a penny for the privilege. It's open land, so there's no set route or activity list, just grass to sit on, a slope to walk up, and a view that does the entertaining for you.

The playground is currently closed for improvement works, so this isn't the trip to plan around swings and slides right now. What's still very much on is the hill itself, plus picnics anywhere on the grass, and a café on site doing hot and cold drinks, wraps, sandwiches and snacks if you'd rather not carry a full picnic up.

It's free to get in and open all day on weekdays. From April to November, Friday to Sunday it closes overnight between 10pm and 6am, which only really matters if you were planning a very late or very early visit. Otherwise this is the kind of open-ended stop you can drop into for twenty minutes on the way somewhere else, or settle in for an afternoon with a blanket and a flask.

Facilities

Need to know

Food

Café serving hot and cold drinks, wraps, sandwiches and snacks

• The playground is shut for improvement works, so this trip is about the hill and the view for now
• Weekend nights between April and November it closes 10pm to 6am, Friday to Sunday
• There's a café on site if you don't fancy carrying a picnic up the hill

Plan your visit

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