Has anyone been to London's Highgate Cemetery?

Whether it's worth the admission price is up to YOU. I've done both and thoroughly enjoyed them but I like visiting cemeteries everywhere I travel.

My main question is whether the West cemetery differs from the East that it is worth seeing both. Or, having visited the East cemetery, would you consider the West as more of the same? THanks.

Google is your friend. Here is a visitor review that might answer your question.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/sightseeing-national/highgate-cemetary/1034873/#rev

Linda, that was a great link! Did you notice that someone called "grandma" commented that cemeteries give her the creeps but she liked the description? I like visiting cemeteries, too....Anna

I've never been to Highgate cemetery but visited Kensal Green outside London - loved it! Very picturesque and Victorian.

We did both sides last year. The atmosphere is very different on the West side - much more overgrown and spooky. I read the review on the link noted above and it does fairly reflect our own experience as well.

At first we were only going to do the East side because the cost was less. However, after discussing it further back at our hotel, we felt that, having come all that way, it would be a shame to miss the West side. I'm glad that we did go back.

Much depends upon your interests and what you want to get out of it. The tour moved very quickly and the light was rather dim; so, we were not very successful in taking pictures, if that is your goal. (I am somewhat a beginner, but my husband has been taking pictures for years.)

If you decide to go, phone ahead and make a reservation. The day that we went, the tours were fully booked with telephone reservations (although they let someone join without one because he had come all the way from Australia).

Thanks, everyone. If time permits, and I can get the reservation, I think I'll try both sides. I appreciate your advice. (Five days and counting until the trip.....)

People might find this article by Audrey Niffenegger, writer of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' interesting. It was published in today's Guardian newspaper and is about her love for the cemetery, in which her new novel is set.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/03/audrey-niffenegger-highgate-cemetery-novel

Alan

I'm indebted to you doubly, Alan, for posting that article from the Guardian. Not only do I leave for Britain on Monday, but I also happen to be reading George Eliot for the first time, and had no idea she was buried at Highgate.
Cheers, Matt

Matt

You're welcome. I'm a fan of Middlemarch myself.

Hope you have a good trip. The weather here at the moment is pretty reasonable for the time of year. We're going to get some rain Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the forecast, but then it's going to be quite sunny for a few days.

Alan

The tube stop fyi is not Highgate but I forget the right one check or have a nice longer walk . Last time i went was after Berlin wall came down and people said Lenin must be rolling over in his Highgate resting spot ... evry thing seemed in order to me .. I think the stop may be archway.

We've been to both sides of Highgate. The tube stop is Archway and there used to be directions on how to get to the cemetery posted near the entrance.

I should have said Karl Marx not Lenin is buried here , any way no matter what people say no one seems be rolling over in grave after wall came down in Berlin

Thanks to everyone who responded to my original post.
I just returned from my two weeks in Britain and I can state for the record that Highgate Cemetery is definitely worth the trip. Beautiful and unique on both sides (east and west.) The fees to tour the cemeteries are not out of line with other London attractions, and they go to a good cause --supporting the beautiful and historic grounds. One of the highlights of my trip.