Nunhead Cemetery
a magnificent overgrown wilderness
One of London's Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries, free, gone gloriously wild, with a ruined Gothic chapel and a long avenue framing a surprise view of St Paul's.
Free to visit · Nunhead · Nunhead · SE15 3LP
Opening: Daily · roughly 8:30am to dusk
Nunhead is the least known of the Magnificent Seven, the great ring of cemeteries built around Victorian London, and that is exactly its charm. Opened in 1840 and long left to nature, its fifty-two acres in southeast London have become a beautiful free woodland of leaning headstones and ivy-wrapped angels.
Paths wind through deep, overgrown sections where the graves vanish into the trees, past a roofless Gothic Anglican chapel that stands ruined and atmospheric at the heart of it. Volunteers from the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery keep it open and run free guided tours, but you can simply wander in any day for nothing.
Walk up the main avenue and there is a surprise. A gap in the trees has been deliberately kept clear to frame a long, distant view of St Paul's Cathedral, miles away across the city, a quiet free reward at the top of the hill.
Getting there: A short walk from Nunhead station, with entrances on Linden Grove.
Best time to go: A weekday for solitude, or autumn when the woodland turns. The Friends run free guided tours, usually monthly, well worth catching.
Insider tip: Walk up to the top of the central avenue and look back for the framed view of St Paul's, kept clear on purpose. Catch one of the free volunteer-led tours if you can, they know where the most overgrown and atmospheric corners hide.
Official site: https://www.fonc.org.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide