nearby

Best known for the grave of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery, a tombstone that is as ostentatious as it is imposing, the wanderings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the prestigious Highgate School, formed 1565 by a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I, the lovely, picturesque, Highgate, long-standing genteel partner to Hampstead.

You can cycle there in 15 minutes, or catch the 210 from Golders Green or by the Spaniards Inn, or walk – it’s not as far as you think on a gorgeous day, and you have the benefit of walking across the Heath Extension, dropping in by the Spaniards Inn for a swift half or three, and treating yourself to a high tea at Kenwood – there and back if you like.

Once there you can grab another coffee at Lauderdale House, hang around in Waterlow Park, or take some time in Highgate Cemetery. It’s not as morbid as you might think – more peaceful, reflective, calming. And it’s great to be around such literary, philosophical, and political greats, even if they are not around to talk. It helps ground your own life.