The Cache
Important: Access only possible during opening hours of the estate:
8am - 8.30pm (Summer)
8am - 4.45pm (Winter)
Walking distance from start to end and back to start should be just under 2 miles (3km), mostly over grass and non-paved paths. No problem for most people including children, but unfortunately not wheelchair- and buggy-friendly. If it has rained recently, paths can be muddy. Estimated time to complete is about an hour, depending on your walking speed. Allow some more time if you want to enjoy the landscape and the art collection in the house. Dogs are allowed on leads on most parts of the estate, please read the details at the gates of the estate.
Part of the estate is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), particularly the ancient woodlands. Please respect the site and don't leave the paths in the woodlands, cross any fences, or attempt to enter the estate when it's closed!
I encourage caching by public transport. Take the Northern Line to Archway and continue on Bus 210 towards Brent Cross. Exit at stop Compton Avenue / Kenwood.
For those arriving by car, parking is possible in the West Lodge Car Park (pay and display - £1 for 2 hours or £2 for 4 hours).
Cache takes some swaps and TB's. Original Cache contents: Logbook, some gift items from the English Heritage giftshop (a small wood puzzle, 2 Kenwood House Keyrings, 2 English Heritage Keyrings, Fridge magnet Zoffany's painting of Dido Belle with her cousin Elizabeth which can currently be seen in the Kenwood House - details here) + a geocoin and a TB
Kenwood House
Kenwood House is a former stately home on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath in London. It is managed by English Heritage.
The original house, which is the central part of the current house, was built in early 17th century. The orangery on the left was added about 1700 and originally used to grow - guess what - oranges. Hence the large windows.
In 1754 the house was bought by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. He commissioned Robert Adam, a Scottish architect and interior designer, to remodel the house. Adam added the right wing containing the library (one of his most famous interiors) to balance the orangery, and added the Ionic portico at the entrance. The 2nd Earl added two wings on the north side, and the offices and kitchen buildings and brewery (now the restaurant) to the side. The Mansfield family lived here until the 1920s. As they planned to sell the estate for development, an appeal was launched and the estate was bought in stages for the nation.
In 1925 Kenwood House and part of the estate were bought by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh. Lord Iveagh was a great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, founder of the Guinness Brewery. He furnished the house and installed his collection of paintings here, and on his death in 1927 he left Kenwood House and its contents to the nation - hence the name The Iveagh Bequest.
The house was opened to the public in 1928. Unfortunately the furnishing had already been sold before, so the house is largely empty. Some furniture has since been added. The paintings from Iveagh's collection are today on display in the house. Enter through the main gate (at the start location) to enjoy the fine art from Rembrandt, Turner, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Vermeer, to admire the great Adam Library built by Robert Adam, and to discover paintings from the Suffolk Collection with magnificent full length Elizabethan portraits.
Kenwood House opening hours: (every day except 24-26 Dec and 1 Jan)
11am - 5pm (April-October)
11am - 4pm (November-March)
Admission is free (but donations welcome). No pets allowed inside.
Kenwood Estate
The estate landscape was designed for Lord Mansfield by Sir Humphry Repton, the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century. The gardens near the house are contrasting with some surrounding woodland, and the naturalistic Hampstead Heath to the south. There is also a new garden by Arabella Lennox-Boyd.
Classical music concerts were held by the lake on Saturday evenings every summer from 1951 until 2006, attracting thousands of people to picnic and enjoy the music, scenery and spectacular fireworks. Unfortunately, in February 2007 English Heritage had to abandon these concerts due to restrictions placed on them after protests from some local residents. The future of Kenwood House is now uncertain, as English Heritage depended on the income from the Lakeside Concerts to maintain the house at a cost of around a million pounds per year.
About one third of the estate is a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its semi-natural ancient woodlands. Here standing deadwood and over mature trees provide homes for over 750 species of insects, including five Red Data Book Species and nine Nationally Scarce Species, which attract many woodpeckers, nuthatch and tree creepers. Four species of bats roost on the site which boasts the largest Pipistrelle bat maternity roost in London. Trees include Sessile Oak, Beech, Mountain Ash, Holly and Wild Service. There is also a small Sphagnum bog and a wide variety of other interesting wood and meadow habitats.
Did you know?
The film Notting Hill was partly filmed at the Kenwood House...
Hall of Fame
Congratulations to the first finders!
1. Gold went to... goldpot (how appropriate!) on 15 August 2007
2. Silver for bones1 on 24 August 2007
3. Bronze for paul123456 on 27 August 2007