Hampstead Heath: Get Lost on Purpose

800 acres of ancient woodland, meadows, ponds, and mud paths that lead you confidently in what turns out to be a large circle. It's not a park. Parks are tidy. The Heath is glorious and does not care whether you're ready.

Parliament Hill gives you the skyline — the Shard to the BT Tower to St. Paul's, all arranged for inspection. From there north toward the Kenwood House estate, through increasingly wild woods. The swimming pond on the way is open year-round, including January at roughly eight degrees Celsius. The regulars who break ice to swim at seven AM are the toughest people in London. Kenwood House itself is free, holds a Vermeer and a Rembrandt, and has a landscaped lake that Capability Brown would have approved.

Autumn for copper beeches and thinning crowds. Wear boots — proper boots, not fashion boots. The mud is serious. Bring no map. Getting lost is the point.