Starts at exit 2 of Highgate Station (‘Priory Gardens exit’, where there’s a coffee stand).
Your guide will be at the starting point with a Red Umbrella.
Your guide will be at the starting point with a Red Umbrella.
Highgate exists in a kind of splendid isolation and is ‘one of London’s best kept secrets’ (Rough Guide). Known for inspiring some of Charles Dickens' most famous works, strict planning laws maintain the character of this picturesque village. Everything remains as it was when world-renowned artists, dashing highwaymen and political revolutionaries used to drink in its pubs, though the quaint cottages are now owned by today’s rich and famous.
We'll see centuries-old Georgian homes once resided in by great artists such as Charles Dickens, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, JB Priestley, Yehudi Menuhin and the Bloomsbury group's Roger Fry; and pubs once patronized by the likes of Byron, Hogarth and Marx. There's also the historical Lauderdale House; the great views from Waterlow Park; and of course Highgate's atmospheric Victorian cemetery, inspiration to writers ranging from Bram Stoker to Neil Gaimon, the resting place of many an interesting personality, and fountain of many a quirky story!
(Please note that while we get some good views of Highgate cemetery and provide a concise history, we don't go inside the cemetery. We finish our walk near the cemetery so you can have a proper visit after the tour).
We'll see centuries-old Georgian homes once resided in by great artists such as Charles Dickens, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, JB Priestley, Yehudi Menuhin and the Bloomsbury group's Roger Fry; and pubs once patronized by the likes of Byron, Hogarth and Marx. There's also the historical Lauderdale House; the great views from Waterlow Park; and of course Highgate's atmospheric Victorian cemetery, inspiration to writers ranging from Bram Stoker to Neil Gaimon, the resting place of many an interesting personality, and fountain of many a quirky story!
(Please note that while we get some good views of Highgate cemetery and provide a concise history, we don't go inside the cemetery. We finish our walk near the cemetery so you can have a proper visit after the tour).