Back in 2015 I read a lovely article called “10 things to love about living in West Hampstead”. It was a great list (how can you not love an article that includes “The great cucumber mystery of 2013”). However, they missed out one major category – “healthy living”. So here is my attempt to redress the balance with my own list of 10 “Healthy Living Things” to Love About Living in West Hampstead
(W.E.L. = West End Lane, M.L. = Mill Lane)
1. Fresh produce in West Hampstead
Healthy living has to start with healthy eating and it doesn’t get much better than eating fresh produce. We now have two greengrocers (W.E.L and M.L), a butchers, the fishmongers on Broadhurst Gardens and the weekly food market next to the Thameslink station. With so many highstreets losing their traditional food sellers it’s great to see them all thriving here.
2. Health Food Shops in West Hampstead
Continuing with the food theme, on West End Lane we have Health Town and Peppercorns both selling health foods, vitamins and nutritional supplements.
3. Keeping fit in West Hampstead (Fitness Studios and gyms)
Whichever way you like to keep fit there are options for you all around West Hampstead. Starting from just behind West Hampstead tube and travelling up to the top of Fortune Green (we may as well go up hill if we are trying to get fit) you can try: Hit Gym (Broadhurst Gardens), Movers and Shapers (W.E.L), Health Town’s Yoga, Pilates and fitness studio (W.E.L), My Fitness Boutique (M.L) and The Gym (Fortune Green Road).
4. Sports in West Hampstead (sports clubs and play grounds)
The other great way to get fit is to play sport. Just off Lymington Road we have the fantastic Hampstead Cricket Club, West Hampstead Hockey club and the Cumberland Tennis and squash club all on one site (they also have a small gym as well). Parks are also a wonderful place to get active for all ages. In addition to the Fortunate Green park, you may not know that there are also smaller playgrounds on Lymington road and Sumatra Road.
5. Osteopathy, Physiotherapy and Chiropractic in West Hampstead
Leading nicely on from the fitness categories are the injury and rehab specialists. 5 minutes from West Hampstead Tube is Hampstead Osteopathy in Health Town on W.E.L. (open 7 days a week). On Mill Lane are Yi Dao, the West Hampstead Chiropractor and West Hampstead Physiotherapy . If you are not sure which treatment approach is right for you they all have websites which describe how each approach works.
6. Dentists in West Hampstead
“All this fuss about sleeping together. For physical pleasure I’d sooner go to my dentist any day”. So wrote Evelyn Waugh and in West Hampstead we have four to choose from including three on W.E.L alone: Pearl Dental, Perfect Smile and Robert Kane Dental Practice as well as Mill Lane Dental. Hopefully they can put a smile on your face too (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
7. Podiatrists in West Hampstead
From one end of the body to the other with this next category. There are two podiatrists in West Hampstead (as far as I know). The London Chiropody clinic in Health Town and The Foot Clinic on W.E.L. Does any other part of your body take as much of a battering as your feet?
8. Massage and alternative therapies in West Hampstead
If a bit of R and R is what you are after there is no need to drive miles away to a spa. We have a wide range of massage therapists, acupuncturists, reflexologists and Reiki practitioners in several locations in West Hampstead. Again check out their websites for details:
- W.E.L: Health Town, Siam Sanctuary, Chinese Health Centre
- M.L: Yi Dao, Holistic Health Lab
9. Healthy Mind Healthy Body
Sometimes it can really help to talk to a professional. At Health Town you can see psychotherapists, psycyhologists, EFT and hypnotherapy practitioners all of whom offer distinct ways of helping resolve emotional and psychological problems. There are also counselling psychotherapists in “The Rooms Above” on M.L.
10. GP surgeries in West Hampstead
Last, but by no means least are the vitally important GPs. We are incredibly lucky to have three well established GP practices: The West Hampstead Medical Centre on Solent Road, Cholmley Gardens Surgery on Mill Lane and The Fortune Green Practice at the top of Fortune Green Road.
I hope you found this list helpful. I have no doubt that I have missed out some practitioners, especially those who work from home. If I have done so I apologise. I have compiled this list to highlight the wide range of health and wellbeing services available in our neighbourhood. As an osteopath who has worked in West Hampstead since 2008, I continue to love working here and I hope to always have a wide range of other practitioners with whom to collaborate.
