Harrow on the Hill is effectively a different world from the retail strip at the bottom. The hill rises steeply enough that the village on top feels genuinely elevated — the houses are older, the streets are narrower, and the views on clear days reach the North Downs of Surrey. The whole hilltop is dominated by Harrow School, whose boarding houses, chapels, and playing fields occupy most of the ridge. Between the school buildings, the village has kept a handful of independent businesses and period houses.
The atmosphere is unlike most of outer London. On weekday afternoons in term time, pupils in school uniform mix with the odd tourist who has made the climb from the Underground. The steep lane called Football Lane (the school did invent its own football code here) winds up to the churchyard, and the views from the benches beside St Mary's on a clear evening are genuinely arresting.