DAY 4 – THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2026
We decided to spend the final morning of our first stay in London exploring a different side of the city. We left our hotel and hopped on the Tube for a 45-minute journey north to Hampstead, an area that feels worlds away from the bustle of Central London.
After grabbing coffee and croissants, we began exploring this lovely neighborhood using another walking tour from @ALadyinLondon, the same guide whose Soho tour we really enjoyed earlier in the week. Once again, she did not disappoint.
Hampstead immediately felt quieter and more relaxed than the areas we had visited earlier in the trip. We wandered through beautiful residential streets lined with charming homes that probably cost somewhere between “a lot” and “we shouldn’t even look.” The commercial areas were filled with cozy cafes, bookstores, bakeries, and independent shops that made us wish we had a little more time to linger.
Along the way, we also passed homes connected to a couple of famous residents from the past. One was the former home of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, and another belonged to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of classics such as Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s always fun in London to turn a corner and suddenly realize that history, literature, or pop culture somehow happened right there.
One of the highlights was walking through Hampstead Heath, a massive green space that seemed to be equal parts park, nature preserve, and unofficial London dog convention. Everywhere we looked there were happy dogs sprinting across fields while their owners somehow managed to remain perfectly calm and sophisticated despite the chaos around them. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to stop at the Affordable Art Show, which had just opened for the week.
Before heading back, we grabbed a quick lunch at a bookstore cafe, which feels like exactly the kind of place you should eat lunch in Hampstead. After a little more wandering past architecturally interesting homes and quiet side streets, we made our way back to the Tube station. It was a really enjoyable morning and gave us a chance to experience a very different side of London that felt far more suburban and local.
On our way back to the hotel, we squeezed in one final London essential: bubble tea for the road. Shortly afterward, our driver arrived right on time and we were officially off to the Cotswolds!
Along the way, we asked if he could make one very important detour that was only a few minutes out of the way: the famous Diddly Squat Farm Shop from the Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm.
If you haven’t watched the show, we highly recommend it.
The series follows Jeremy Clarkson, best known for car-related television shows, as he attempts to personally run his large farm in the Cotswolds starting in 2019. What follows is a mix of farming, weather disasters, livestock chaos, financial stress, questionable decisions, and genuinely hilarious moments. Over time, the show also gives you a real appreciation for how difficult farming life can be.
Our friends Bob and Stacy recommended the series as “research” before visiting the Cotswolds, and now we’re completely hooked. It was great fun seeing the actual farm shop in person after watching it come together on the show. Sadly, Jeremy and the rest of the cast were nowhere to be found, although we half expected Kaleb to come flying through the parking lot on a tractor at any moment.
Our final destination for the day was the White Hart Royal Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh, our first stop in the Cotswolds. The inn is located right in the middle of a charming little town filled with classic stone buildings and small local shops. Our room was located in what used to be the old stable building, which thankfully now includes modern plumbing and Wi-Fi.
After dropping off our bags, we spent some time wandering around town, including an obligatory pub stop, before returning to the inn for a very nice dinner.
As our first evening in the Cotswolds came to an end, we looked over our itinerary and talked with anticipation about the next day’s adventure: a day trip to Oxford.
Hammond Adventures 