If I hadn’t taken this photo myself, I would refuse to believe that this is in the heart of London. It’s a gated community — gated to vehicles, not to pedestrians — in between Highgate Cemetery and Hampstead Heath. London simply does not look like this; this looks more like the Hollywood Hills. It was a literal bit of culture shock to come across this area.
(Click here for a larger version.)
Evidence: you can see the BT Tower and the Eye in the skyline here:
Easier to see in a larger version of the image.
Gates also mean no buses, which goes an extra step toward keeping out the riffraff. Some riffraff, like me, however, are happy on foot.
