When London's churchyards filled up, just as a young Queen Victoria came to the throne, a scheme was launched to build The Magnificent Seven - huge, modern cemeteries in a ring around the City. As soon as it opened in 1839 Highgate Cemetery in the Northern hills became THE place to be buried if you were rich or famous. The cemetery fell into ruin for many years until in the 1970s The Friends of Highgate Cemetery was formed to buy the freehold - the tours are run to raise money to look after it. Nature has gradually taken over and this remarkable site is now also an important wild-life reserve. Come and enjoy a two-course lunch with coffee before meeting London's famous dead in this Victorian Valhalla.
You'll be taken on a guided tour of the grand Victorian funerary architecture and notable graves in the West Cemetery and have free time to explore the East Cemetery where you'll find other notable graves including Karl Marx.