Brompton Cemetery
A grand garden cemetery in west London, free, laid out like an open-air cathedral with a domed chapel and a long colonnade, and names on the graves said to have inspired Beatrix Potter.
The lowdown
One of the Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries, Brompton is the grandest in design, laid out deliberately like a great open-air cathedral. A long central avenue leads to a domed chapel flanked by sweeping colonnades, all softened now by trees, wildflowers and birdsong. It is managed by the Royal Parks and is free to wander.
It is a working green space as much as a burial ground, used by local people as a park, with foxes, squirrels and even a thriving population of birds among the monuments. The suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst is buried here, among many thousands of Victorians.
There is a charming literary footnote. Beatrix Potter lived nearby and is said to have wandered the cemetery, and a string of names on its headstones, Mr Nutkins, Mr McGregor, Jeremiah Fisher, Peter Rabbett, match her characters. True or not, it adds a smile to a beautiful, peaceful free walk.
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