Bunhill Fields
blake, defoe and bunyan, all here
A peaceful old burial ground on the edge of the City, free, where William Blake, Daniel Defoe and John Bunyan all rest among the leaning Georgian headstones.
Free to visit · Islington · Old Street · EC1Y 8ND
Opening: Daily · roughly 8am to dusk
Bunhill Fields was for centuries the burial ground for Dissenters, the nonconformists who would not bow to the Church of England, which means it gathered an extraordinary cast of radicals and writers. It is free, walled and beautifully calm, a green pause on the busy edge of the City.
The names are remarkable. William Blake, poet and visionary, is here. So is Daniel Defoe, who wrote Robinson Crusoe, and John Bunyan of Pilgrim's Progress. Their memorials sit among hundreds of leaning, lichened Georgian headstones packed close under big plane trees.
Office workers use the central path as a shortcut and a lunch spot, but step off it into the quieter fenced sections and it feels centuries old. A free, atmospheric and slightly melancholy corner most people stride straight past.
Getting there: On City Road between Old Street and Moorgate, a couple of minutes from either.
Best time to go: A weekday lunchtime when the local office workers drift in with sandwiches, or a quiet weekend morning.
Insider tip: Blake's gravestone is easy to find near the central path and there is almost always a small tribute of coins or flowers on it. Go at lunchtime, grab the bench nearby, and you are sitting a few feet from one of the greatest poets in the language, for free.
Official site: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide