Whereas Fleet Street EC4 is world famous, Fleet Road NW3 is rather more ordinary (apart from the fact that the river of the same name still runs beneath it). Fleet Road is a fairly steep one-way street about half a kilometre long, just south of Hampstead Heath station. It's a very typical North London thoroughfare lying well off the tourist trail - and rightly so. At the top of the road is South End Green, the last outpost of Hampstead, where GeorgeOrwell once spent several months working in a bookshop (now a pizza restaurant). South End Green is choked by buses, with queues of 24s and 168s stacked up and a-revving at this over-busy terminus [photo], and quite frankly the South End Green residents have had enough [campaign website - saveourgreen.co.uk]. Unfortunately the alternative is to relocate all the parked 24s in Fleet Road instead [photo], and Fleet Road residents are mounting an equally vigorous opposition to these polluting proposals [campaign website - saveourstreet.co.uk]. There's plenty of neighbourly bickering and nimby-ing for the Ham and High to get its teeth into here.
Other than queueing buses, the most striking feature of Fleet Road is the Royal Free Hospital which towers high above everything at the top of the hill. It's a troubled facility, still reeling from receiving zero stars in the recent health review, and only yesterday announced plans to shut 100 beds to save money. In the hospital's shadow is The White Horse pub, although I'm told The Stag halfway down the road serves a better pint. Fleet Road is also the place to come if you fancy buying a magazine from Fleet News (pictured), a bottle of vodka from Fleet Food & Wine or a curry from the Fleet Tandoori. To the south stands the Fleet Community Centre, complete with multicultural Fleet mosaic, and at the bottom of the hill is OFSTED-acclaimed Fleet Primary School. While much of London may have forgotten that subterranean rivers run beneath their feet, there's certainly no chance to experience fluvial amnesia down Fleet Road.
Reviewing the Fleet
Whereas Fleet Street EC4 is world famous, Fleet Road NW3 is rather more ordinary (apart from the fact that the river of the same name still runs beneath it). Fleet Road is a fairly steep one-way street about half a kilometre long, just south of Hampstead Heath station. It's a very typical North London thoroughfare lying well off the tourist trail - and rightly so. At the top of the road is South End Green, the last outpost of Hampstead, where George Orwell once spent several months working in a bookshop (now a pizza restaurant). South End Green is choked by buses, with queues of 24s and 168s stacked up and a-revving at this over-busy terminus [photo], and quite frankly the South End Green residents have had enough [campaign website - saveourgreen.co.uk]. Unfortunately the alternative is to relocate all the parked 24s in Fleet Road instead [photo], and Fleet Road residents are mounting an equally vigorous opposition to these polluting proposals [campaign website - saveourstreet.co.uk]. There's plenty of neighbourly bickering and nimby-ing for the Ham and High to get its teeth into here.
Reviewing the Fleet
Whereas Fleet Street EC4 is world famous, 