West Highgate is located near East Finchley and Muswell Hill to the north, and Golders Green and Hampstead to the west. Like the rest of Highgate, this area hosts high-quality houses along well-maintained and landscaped roads, and though the houses in West Highgate are generally newer than those closer to Parliament Hill, most are from the Victorian and Georgian eras. The neighbourhood is naturally hilly, and with its topography comes some lovely natural features and open green spaces, such as Highgate Wood and Highgate Golf Club. Overall, West Highgate is a quiet, leafy, village-type settlement, with houses spaced out from each other and a cosy high street with several pubs and eateries located along it. Highgate Wood was originally part of the Bishop of London’s Hunting Park, and today represents 28 hectares of ancient woodland mostly comprising of hornbeam coppice and oak trees. It has been known by various names in the past, like Brewers Fall, when it was leased to local breweries – the hornbeam was used to fire the brewing process, and the oak to make the barrels. Prior to that, it was known as Grael Pit Wood, as gravel was extracted in the western portion of the woodlands.

Archeological excavations have established that there were Roman kilns producing pottery in the area for Londinium to the south from 43 CE, lasting about 150 years. Highgate has been known to house many famous people, with a disproportionate number of writers. The author Charles Dickens lived here in 1832, on 92 North Road, who wrote works such as Great Expectations and David Copperfield (his somewhat-autobiographical character also lived in Highgate). Further down the road, Alfred Edward Housman lived on 17 North Road, and wrote A Shropshire Lad whilst living there. The collection of 63 poems depicted a nostalgic rural life and the premature death of a young man; the publication, published in 1896, grew in popularity during the First World War.

The area is home to many sports facilities, including Highgate Golf Course, Mallinson Sports Centre as well as Archway Leisure Centre a mile away. The sports facilities at the independent Highgate School is also open to the public at certain times during the week.

Highgate School has produced many notable alumni, called Cholmeleians after Sir Roger Cholmeley. These include the journalist and author Edmund Yates, chairman of London Transport Board, Sir Alexander Valentine, as well as turntablist Duncan Beiny, aka ‘DJ Yoda’.

Highgate’s reputation for hosting large mansions for the ultra-rich has its basis, with the Witanhurst development being the second-largest private home in London after Buckingham Palace – and in recent years, there have been battles over the extension of historical properties into large, alien estates. However, the Highgate Society aims to maintain the area’s character, and residents have successfully fought the creation of massive estates as of late.

As mentioned, the Highgate Society aims to maintain the preservation of the area’s character. However, in recent years there has been some new developments, particularly luxury flats, which have cropped up in the area. One such development is the Holly Lodge scheme on Oakshott Avenue. The development is typically small and is made up of a collection of 4 private sale and 4 Shared Ownership properties.