Go everywhere, Do everything

Highgate cemetery is one of 7 private cemeteries opened as a solution to Victorian London’s lack of burial spaces. The cemetery occupies space on both sides of the road and so compromises of the east and west side. Despite being one of the most desirable places to lay your family members to rest during the Victorian era, it eventually went out of fashion and was left to decline. In the 1970’s, Friends of Highgate Cemetery was formed and they have been working to restore it to its former glory since.

The cemetery is still an active burial ground and has a working chapel but is now also open to visitors and for tours.

We booked on to a tour of the West side, which is the oldest part of the cemetery which also included entry tickets to the East side.

If you want to visit without a tour, you can pick up a map from the ticket booth and a guide book. I’d highly recommend the tour though for the depth of knowledge of the guides who bring the stories of some of the people who are interred in the cemetery to life.

The Tour

The tours are led by volunteers and our tour guide Paul was just the right amount of funny, informative and sarcastic, he made the tour so engaging. The tours all follow roughly the same route but the graves visited and stories told will depend on the tour guide and the interest of the group members.

The group compromised of about 20 people and lasts for about 75 minutes.

The tour starts at the entrance to the West side and loops up through the graveyard, stopping to talk about certain graves that stand out either because of the design of gravestone or the fame of its occupants. It then visits the Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon and finishes in the Terrace Catacombs which are only accessible by taking one of the tours.

Unlike modern cemeteries, there is no formal layout to the plots. You could be buried anywhere there was space so the layout is very higgledy piggledy. As the cemetery spans nearly 20 years, it is fascinating to see how the trend for grave stones, monuments, mausoleums, crypts and memorials changes over the years.

Our Thoughts

As a lover of social history, I thought the tour was brilliant. The history of the cemetery and the stories of those buried there were fascinating. We learned so much about the Victorians, how they treated there dead and their burial practices as well as how some of the people interred at Highgate influenced wider Victorian society. If you enjoy history, architecture or graveyards, this is also a must. Pip also enjoyed it although preferred the funny stories to the architecture and has no idea who George Michael or Alexander Litvinenko are so their graves were lost on her.

Accessibility

The cemetery is a Victorian cemetery, built on a hill and is in the process of being brought back from disrepair. It compromises of uneven paths, tree roots and steps. For those with mobility issues it would be worth contacting the cemetery before you visit to discuss the best way for you to visit.

Tours are in spoken English. Accessibility information can be found on this webpage.

Facilities

On site there are toilets, water fountains, a small pop up cafe and a shop selling items related to the cemetery.

Tickets

Tickets for the East and West sides can be bought on the gates. Tickets for the tours need to be booked online and can be booked here, a general entry ticket is also required.

Getting there

The address of the cemetery is; Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ. There is no parking at the cemetery itself so you are encouraged to make your way there on foot or by public transport. We took the Northern Line to Archway and then a 20 minute walk.

We visited in June 2025 when Pip was 13.