Thursday August 15, 2024.
Highgate Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in London, if not the world, and was a place that I have wanted to visit for years.
So, with Emma, Erin and Keilyn in tow, we headed to the cemetery, arriving at around 11:45, checked in at reception and awaited the start of our tour at noon.
Exactly on time Nigel arrived and introduced himself to our group, explaining that the tour takes between 75 and and 90 minutes. Then we set off up the steps to the West Cemetery.
At the top of steps we stopped and Nigel introduced us to James Selby. James Selby had taken a wager, in 1888, that he couldn't take his coach and horses to Brighton and back, within eight hours. It was a journey of over four hours, one way. James Selby completed the round trip in seven hours and fifty minutes.
We then moved further up Colonnade Path where we were introduced to more of the cemetery's guests and the giant mausoleum of Otway, with its glass skylights and iron railings in the shape of upturned cannon, with spiked cannonballs.
Close to this was the grave of Alexander Litvinenko and then the wellkept family plot of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. aka George Michael.
A fox appeared from between some gravestones, took a quick glance at the group and then disappeared into the undergrowth.
We then continued up Main Drive and visited the grave of Elizabeth Jackson, who was the first person to be buried in the cemetery.
Before we knew it we were approaching Egyptian Avenue, with its obelisks. The avenue, which is now roofless, was lined with vaults.
Each of these vaults are home to not just the dead, but orb weaver spiders, of which there are thousands. These spiders are usually only found in caves and it is thought they may have been living in the cemetery for over 150 years.
Exiting Egyptian Avenue brought us out into the Circle of Lebanon, with its massive family vaults.
Nigel stopped by various ones of interest, telling us stories and some of the things that had been filmed here, normally without permission. For instance, the Aird family Mausoleum was used in the film 'The Abominable Dr Phibes'.
We then saw the tomb of George Wombwell, before Nigel unlocked the gate of the Terrace Catacombs and we delved into the cool darkness.
We saw some of the lead-lined coffins, some in a poor state, while others were still behind the original glass.
Towards the eastern end we could see the damage done to some of the coffins, when people, believing that vampires were in the catacombs, broke in to destroy the bodies.
Suitably satisfied, and with many of the younger audience a little shaken, we headed out of the catacombs.
We were told about the Beer Mausoleum before we went off to see the grave of Thomas Sayers, who holds the the record for the biggest funeral in the history of the cemetery.
We then travelled down Morgan Road and on to Sayers Road, before heading down Faraday Path to the grave of Michael Faraday.
We then continued along the path until we found ourselves back at the courtyard.
