The Highgate Cemetery Connection

Highgate Cemetery lies a twenty-minute walk from Hampstead village, on the far side of the Heath, and its connection to Hampstead is more than geographical. The cemetery opened in 1839 and quickly became the preferred resting place for the Victorian and Edwardian residents of north London's intellectual and artistic community.

Two cemeteries, two atmospheres

Highgate is effectively two cemeteries. The West Cemetery is the older, the more overgrown and the more theatrical; it requires a guided tour for entry, which restricts casual visiting but keeps the fabric intact. The East Cemetery opened in 1854, is less wooded, easier to navigate, and can be visited on a standard ticket. Both reward slow walking in the same way the Heath does: the further in you go, the quieter it becomes.

The West Cemetery highlights

The Egyptian Avenue, the Circle of Lebanon and the Victorian catacombs are theatrical in a way that was intended — a nineteenth-century set-piece of funerary design that still works. The cedar of Lebanon at the centre of the Circle is several decades older than the cemetery around it, and the crypts radiate out from its trunk like the spokes of a very melancholy wheel. The guides are informed and patient, and the tour typically takes seventy minutes.

The East Cemetery and its residents

Karl Marx's monument in the East Cemetery draws pilgrims — genuine and tourist — from across the world; George Eliot and Herbert Spencer lie nearby; Douglas Adams's gravestone collects a steady flow of pens left by fans. Jeremy Beadle, Alexander Litvinenko, Beryl Bainbridge and George Michael are all buried in the East Cemetery as well. The effect, wandering between them, is of a deep intellectual landscape where the conversation has just paused.

Themed tours and events

The Friends of Highgate Cemetery run an excellent programme of themed tours throughout the year — symbolism, botany, women of Highgate, literary residents, the cemetery's own architectural history. The spring visits, when the cemetery's wildflowers are at their best, are particularly worth attending; see the parallels in our Heath wildflower calendar.

Walking from Hampstead

The best approach is on foot. Leave the village via East Heath Road, cross the Heath past the Viaduct and Kenwood, and descend toward Swain's Lane. The walk takes about thirty minutes and includes some of the Heath's finest ancient woodland. A useful map of related paths is in our Heath walking guide.

When to go

Weekday mornings in April and October are the quietest and the best-lit. Avoid high summer weekends, when the Marx monument draws significant crowds. For the atmosphere that photographers prize, aim for a misty November morning; for the wildflower display, late April and early May. See also our autumn Heath guide.

Fitting a visit into a Hampstead day

A Highgate morning pairs well with a Hampstead lunch. The natural route is west along Swain's Lane, back across the Heath via Kenwood, and into the village for a pub lunch or a restaurant meal — an itinerary sketched in our weekend itinerary.

## The walking connection From Hampstead, Highgate Cemetery is a 35 to 40-minute walk — north through Hampstead Heath, past Kenwood House, east along Hampstead Lane, south down Swain's Lane to the cemetery gate. The walk is one of the best longer Heath routes; the cemetery makes a natural turning point. Alternatively, the 210 bus runs from Hampstead Heath overground or Hampstead tube to the Kenwood gate, where you can join the walk at the eastern half. From central London, Archway tube is the nearest station to the cemetery (10 minutes' walk). ## The two cemeteries Highgate Cemetery is two separate cemeteries with a single connecting road. The East Cemetery (where Karl Marx is buried, plus George Eliot, Douglas Adams, Bert Jansch) is open daily for self-guided visits, around £4.50 entry. The West Cemetery — the older, more atmospheric Victorian gothic side — is accessible only on guided tours, around £14. For most first-time visitors, the West Cemetery tour is the unmissable element. The Egyptian Avenue, the Circle of Lebanon, the Terrace Catacombs are remarkable Victorian funerary architecture. Tours run several times daily; book ahead through the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust website. ## The Hampstead residents buried at Highgate Many Hampstead literary, artistic, and political figures chose Highgate over the smaller St John-at-Hampstead churchyard for burial. The list is long; key Hampstead-Highgate connections include the historian Eric Hobsbawm (East Cemetery), the philosopher Bernard Williams, the actor Sir Ralph Richardson, the writer Beryl Bainbridge. Karl Marx lived in Hampstead briefly in the 1850s before moving permanently to Soho; his Highgate tomb has become one of London's most-visited graves. ## What to combine the visit with The Highgate village pub the Flask (1663, rebuilt 1767) is five minutes from the cemetery and the obvious lunch stop. Sunday roasts £24, courtyard beer garden, two open fires. The Wrestlers up the High Street is the alternative — slightly more traditional, slightly cheaper. Waterlow Park, immediately south of the cemetery, is a Victorian landscape garden with a small lake and tea pavilion. A pleasant 30-minute walk before or after the cemetery visit.