Saturday April 4, 2026.
Cloudy with sunny spells and light winds, 13°C (55°F).
Keilyn and I decided that we needed to complete our mission to visit all of the 'Magnificent Eight' garden cemeteries, of which six were already completed. As such it was a case of visiting south London, to explore Nunhead and West Norwood cemeteries.
We were up early, dressed and boarding a train, at Watford underground station, by 08:50, heading to Finchley Road. From here we changed to a Jubilee line train to Green Park and, from there, a Victoria line train to Brixton.
My original intention had been to take a bus to Norwood, but Keilyn decided that, as it was pretty much a straight road, we should walk. So, off we set. We headed south along Effra Road and onto Tulse Hill where we decided to enter Brockwell Park, rather than follow the streets to our destination.
A series of three ponds, linked by trickling water courses, were immediately to our right, with an adventure playground to our right. Ahead of us cricket pitches, tennis courts and community greenhouses stretched out before us. Deciding to continue south we explored the ponds before we visited the Walled Garden.
The Walled Garden was a tranquil place filled with trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, a pond, and more. At its entrance was, quite possibly, the smallest Model Village that I have ever seen. It consists of around half-a-dozen houses, which were designed by Edgar Wilson, in 1943. The original village was a lot bigger, but the village was relocated to Vauxhall Park in the 1950s.
Continuing onward we made up to the top of the park, near Brockwell Hall, where we stopped to look north at the London skyline, some four-and-a-half miles (seven kilometres) away. We crested the hill and walked down the grass parkland towards the gate at Norwood Road. Towards the bottom of the grassland a young mother and her daughter, all of about three years old, launched a rubber band-propelled glider, that danced through the air, before getting caught in the branches of a tree.
As the mother went to see if she could free it, Keilyn and I watched from a short distance away. The glider was a lot higher in the tree than we realised, so Keilyn and I went to offer our assistance. I just about managed to reach the limb, close to the trunk and shook it back and forth, while the mother threw a sturdy stick at the glider. It moved, but remained stuck. I tried again, while Keilyn prepared to climb the tree, and suddenly the glider moved. Another throw of the stick, by the mother, and some rigorous shaking of the branch by myself and the glider dropped to the floor. The mother and daughter, who I turned out to be visiting from France, both thanked us, in broken English, as we bid them a good day.
We followed Norwood Road, stopping to purchase some snacks at 'Greggs', before we reached our first destination of West Norwood Cemetery. West Norwood Cemetery, or the South Metropolitan Cemetery as it was originally known, was opened in 1837 and was the second of the eight garden cemeteries built 1833 and 1845.
Once we had passed through the gates we began our exploration. Ornate mausoleums and gravestones of every description lined the paths, while towards the centre many headstones were obscured by bracken. Some mausoleums were crumbling, with trees growing through cracks, while other tombs had completely collapsed. It was a remarkable juxtaposition of newly dug graves sitting beside century old gravestones, pristine monuments next to decaying stone.
We explored it all, but, unfortunately, the catacombs were covered in scaffolding and corrugated iron sheeting, such is the disrepair of some of the buildings within the cemetery.
After making our way out of the cemetery, via the Hubbard Road entrance, we continued our journey eastwards. We walked by the 'House of MOBO', South London's newest live music venue and cultural hub, before we made our way to the Kingswood Estate, in the straightest route that we could.
We crossed the Southeastern train line, at Sydenham Hill, before entering Dulwich Wood, which was a nice respite from the paved streets and the warming sun. We followed the paths, many of which were compacted and sturdy, until we moved into Sydenham Hill Wood. The paths in this wood led us in a northerly direction, as the wood skirted around the Dulwich and Sydenham Golf Club.
Eventually we left the woods and found ourselves on London Road, close to the Horniman Museum and Gardens. We crossed London Road and followed Wood Vale, which brought us to Camberwell Old Cemetery. Since we were here we decided to pay it a visit.
A funeral was taking place, so we gave them some distance and explored some other areas of the cemetery. Once again new and seriously impressive monuments to loved ones filled the neatly manicured laws, while older gravestones were barely visible in the undergrowth. Paved paths, among the newer graves, mixed with well worn trails between the older ones.
We left the cemetery, via the Forest Hill Road entrance, and joined Therapia Road, which we followed to Homestall Road, Peckham Rye, Stuart Road and, finally, Limesford Road and our final destination of Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead Cemetery, or All Saints' Cemetery as it was originally known, was opened in 1840 and was the sixth of the eight garden cemeteries to open.
We made our way through the gates, with the War Memorial to our right, and with a well maintained lawn in front of us. From our position three paths headed in different directions, north, east and west. We decided to take the western path. This wide path gave way to tree-lined avenues, with large monuments, mausoleums and gravestones, some buried deep in the undergrowth. Much like West Norwood Cemetery there were barely any other visitors, so we had the place almost to ourselves.
Besides the wide paths, smaller less trodden paths wound their way through the trees and undergrowth, where weathered gravestones listed or fallen, the names that once adorned them lost to time.
We eventually made our way to the Anglican chapel which, although still standing and contains a memorial, has no roof, as it was the victim of arson in the late 1970s. It was still an impressive ruin. A path brought us around the ruin and into a small clearing filled with graves, many of young children.
From here we joined a different path that brought us to the Scouts Memorial. This memorial commemorates, the eight Scouts of the 2nd Walworth Troop, and a training boy, who drowned off Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, on August 4, 1912. The 1914 original life-size bronze of a Scout, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was stolen in 1969, so a new Carrara marble 'open book' memorial was installed, in 1992. This path then brought us to War Graves and the entrance through which we had entered.
We rejoined Limesford Road, stopping to take a photograph of a mural painted on the side of the 'Waverley Arms' pub, before turning onto Ivydale Road and then Oakdale Road. Here we stopped to check out the 'Nunhead Gardener', which is a small garden centre alongside and beneath the arches of the Southeastern and Thameslink line. We then purchased some drinks and snacks, from 'Londis', before heading into Nunhead station, deciding to take a train to central London, so that we could rest our legs.
While we waited for a train we discussed which one to take. We could take a Southeastern to Victoria, from where we could catch a different train or walk back towards an Underground station that would get us home. Or, we could catch a Thameslink train to Blackfriars, from where we could either walk to a Metropolitan line station or continue walking. Keilyn chose the latter, purely because she hadn't been on a Thameslink train and had never stopped at Blackfriars station.
Once the Southeastern had moved on we waited the few more minutes for the Thameslink train, which we were soon aboard and zipping through Peckham, Denmark Hill and Elephant & Castle, before reaching London Blackfriars. We passed through the barriers and used the escalators to reach the main concourse, from where we exited the station. Another discussion ensued as to our next course of action, which Keilyn suggested was to walk to Green Park.
So, we crossed the road and descended to Bazalgette Embankment. To its detriment, young skateboarders were using the granite seating and slopes to practice their tricks, much to the annoyance of those walking along the granite pathway. Keilyn stopped to sketch some of the sights in her A5 sketch pad, that she had brought with her, while I went slightly ahead. As I was looking around I noticed that some of the black basalt and quartz aggregate sculptures, designed by Nathan Coley, had already been damaged, possibly by the skateboarders who were using them as ramps.
Minutes later we were heading down to the northbound Jubilee line platform for the two stops to Baker Street. Once there we had seven minutes to grab a coffee each and some more food, before our train whisked us through north London into the suburbs of Metroland and our destination of Watford.
Arriving at Watford we walked the short distance home, both of us feeling a little tired, but exhilarated from such a great day out.
Many say that London is a concrete jungle, but today proved that many places are linked by amazing green spaces. In fact, 49% of London is green space.
Distance travelled:
- Bus - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Cable Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- DLR - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Ferry - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Overground - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- River Boat - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Taxi - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Train - 5.3 miles (8.52 kms) Thameslink
- Tram - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
- Underground - 29.3 miles (47.15 kms)
- Walking - 13.48 miles (21.69 kms)
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