One of Londons highlights outside the city center is the historic Highgate Cemetery. Located in the north in todays city quarter Camden it was opened in 1839, became the graveyard for many persons living in exile and it had to close around the year 1960. Fifteen years later a friend’s association acquired the land and therefore it can these days be visited again and also burials are again happening in this place. That feels a bit odd in the beginning, but seems to work well.
The Highgate Cemetery is split into two sections (East and West) which both can only be accessed in the center close to the church building. The entrance fee is 10 GBP which is a decent price for what you can discover. Highlight in the West is the ancient Egyptian Avenue leading up to the so-called Circle of Lebanon; beautiful old graves and it is no surprise that this section has been used as a backdrop for movies like Dorian Gray or Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. On the way up the hill you can find the grave of George Michael (haunting you every year with Last Christmas; remember his name was officially Georgios Kyriakos Panayiotou, elsewise you might search forever) and close to the wall next to Swain’s Lane there is the plain tomb of physicist Michael Faraday.
‘The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.’
– Karl Marx: Eleven Theses on Feuerbach
Most important landmark in the East is for most people the grave of philosopher Karl Marx who was buried here in 1883. His simple and well-fitting grave was unfortunately replaced in 1956 by the Communist Party. The original tombstone is embedded but on top there is now a giant head and the famous inscription ‘workers of all lands unite‘ in golden letters. In the 1970s home-brewn bombs were used in two attempts to destroy it, even these days attacks with paint do happen.
‘Don’t Panic.’
– Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
But on your way to the father of marxism you should keep your eyes open to discover the grave of Douglas Adams who found eternal rest here in 2001. The author of the famous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has obviously a lot of visitors who bring him a pen, something with the number 42 on it or a towel. Readers of his epic work will know why. If you want to get to Highgate Cemetery you can take the Northern Line to Archway and walk up Highgate Hill (a bit steep, but worth the effort). When Waterlow Park appears on the left hand side pass through it and you’ll find the entrance to both sections of the Highgate Cemetery.
Highgate Cemetery
London
England
United Kingdom
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