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Northeast of the Hampstead Heath, and fractionally lower than Hampstead
(appearances notwithstanding), Highgate lacks the literary cachet
of its neighbor, but makes up for it with London's most famous cemetery,
resting place of Karl Marx. It also retains more of its village origins,
especially around The Grove, Highgate's finest row of houses,
the oldest dating as far back as 1685.
To get
to the cemetery, head south down Highgate High Street and Highgate
Hill, with its amazing views towards the City. When you get to the
copper dome of "Holy Joe", the Roman Catholic Church which stands on
Highgate Hill, pop into the pleasantly landscaped Waterlow Park,
next door, with its fine café and restaurant.
The
park provides a through route to Highgate Cemetery, which is
ranged on both sides of Swain's Lane. Highgate's most famous corpse,
that of Karl Marx, lies in the East Cemetery (daily:
April-Sept 10am-5pm; Oct-March 10am-4pm; £1). Marx himself asked for a
simple grave topped by a headstone, but by 1954 the Communist movement
decided to move his grave to a more prominent position and erect the
vulgar bronze bust that now surmounts a granite plinth. Close by lies
the much simpler grave of the author George Eliot.
What
the East Cemetery lacks in atmosphere is in part compensated for by the
fact that you can wander at will through its maze of circuitous paths,
whereas to visit the more atmospheric and overgrown West Cemetery, with its spooky Egyptian Avenue and terraced catacombs, you must go
round with a guided tour (Mon-Fri noon, 2pm & 4pm, Sat & Sun hourly
11am-4pm; £3). Among the prominent graves usually visited are those of
artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and lesbian novelist Radclyffe Hall.
Tube: Highgate or bus #210 from Archway Tube.
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