St Mary's Churchyard, Walthamstow, London

St Mary's Churchyard, Walthamstow, London

Visited November 2016

The church of St Mary stands in the pretty conservation area of Walthamstow village in east London, and there has been a church on the site since the 12th century. Some parts of the current building date to the 15th century although, like most churches, there was a lot of restoration and rebuilding in the Victorian period and 20th century.

The churchyard is split by paths running to the main entrance of the church, splitting it into 4 sections. Each of these areas is behind railings, but two of the less overgrown parts have gates letting the more curious enter to see the stones; you have to peer over the railings to see the others. As you'd expect, most of them date from the 19th century, but there are some more modern Commonwealth War Graves. Many of the markers are simple stones, but there are some table tombs and the rather splendid lion themed Solly tomb, which stands on 4 large paws, and rather reminds me of Terry Pratchett's luggage...

Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh

Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, Scotland

Visited September 2016

This may well be one of my favourite graveyards so far! It attracts a lot of tourists, it's not huge, it's not overgrown or mysterious, it's not a secret, but it is wonderful!

The most famous thing about this kirkyard (churchyard) is of course Greyfriars Bobby, the little dog who guarded the grave of his owner for 14 years in the 19th century; a memorial to him stands just inside the gate of the churchyard, piled high with sticks, and there's a statue of him just outside.

The churchyard itself dates to the 16th century, and there are a lot of old memorials here. In particular, the ones around the wall are fabulous; these are the oldest and oh, the memento mori symbols! There are skulls, more skulls, dancing skeletons, cherubs, and more skulls! Some of them are even up against (or built into?) the walls of the surrounding houses!

It's well worth a visit here, just across the road from the National Museum of Scotland on one side, and the edge of the Haymarket on another. The Flodden Wall runs through it, with graves on both sides, adding even more history to the place. It's also the area where JK Rowling wrote some books about a boy wizard, and if you search the graves you might just find Tom Riddle's final place of rest (not that Tom Riddle, but perhaps his namesake).

Neolithic Burial Cairn, Crarae Gardens

Neolithic Burial Cairn, Crarae Gardens, Argyll, Scotland

Visited September 2016

Crarae Gardens are a National Trust for Scotland property in Argyll, western Scotland. The Himalayan gardens are wonderful to visit, albeit a bit remote on the banks of Loch Fyne. In spring the rhododendrons must be spectacular!

Not far inside the gardens are the remains of a Neolithic chambered cairn, dating to circa 3500BCE. Nowadays only the stones which formed the entrance and burial chamber remain, along with an interpretation board. They're not fenced off, so you can walk right up to them.

For lots of archaeological information on the site, and some photographs taken when the tomb was excavated, go to the Canmore website: https://canmore.org.uk/site/40024/crarae-garden