The last time I was in London I only managed to visit 4 of the Magnificent 7 cemeteries – Abney Park, Brompton, Kensal Green, and Highgate West and East– and vowed that I would visit the other three the next time I was there. However, as I was in the UK Continue reading “Site 192: London’s West Norwood Cemetery”
As you drive north from Glasgow into the highlands of Scotland, you might pass what is one of Scotland’s most picturesque village, Luss. The village is located on Loch Lomond and is very popular with tourists. In the middle of town lies the church, surrounded Continue reading “Site 191: Luss Parish Churchyard”
As I was walking towards Edinburgh Castle, a cemetery at the base of the hill caught my eye and I knew I would have to go there once my visit to the top of the hill was finished. This was of course St Cuthbert’s Burial Ground, a cemetery that has been Continue reading “Site 186: Edinburgh’s St. Cuthbert’s Burial Ground”
Edinburgh has its fair share of burial grounds, and in somewhat reverse order I visited the Old Calton Burial Ground after visiting the New one. Due to some of the monuments in the cemetery (the Martyrs’ Monument and David Hume’s mausoleum), Continue reading “Site 186: Edinburgh’s Old Calton Burial Ground”
I know that it probably makes more sense to visit the old burial ground before the new one, but it just happened that as I made my way up Calton Hill I ended up at the New Calton Burial Ground first. This cemetery is not far from the Old Calton Burial Ground Continue reading “Site 185: Edinburgh’s New Calton Burial Ground”
Greyfriars Kirkyard is probably the most well-known of Edinburgh’s cemeteries, and thus was the first stop of the day for me. It was already full of tourists – both individuals and large groups – by the time I arrived. Like many of the more famous cemeteries Continue reading “Site 184: Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard”
The oldest cemetery in Birmingham* was only a block or two away from Warstone Lane Cemetery, and when I arrived I was greeted with a riot of colour. Being spring, all the bluebells were in bloom across the UK, but it was here that I was bombarded with, Continue reading “Site 182: Birmingham’s Key Hill Cemetery”
With a few days in Birmingham for a conference, I used my free day to go cemetery exploring and the first one I visited was the Warstone Lane Cemetery. This is a lovely cemetery on a small hill in the Jewellery Quarter of the city. Big grey clouds threatened Continue reading “Site 181: Birmingham’s Warstone Lane Cemetery”
Rome has no shortage of ancient structures worth visiting, and the Pantheon is one of them. Originally built between 133-125 CE, it was converted into a Christian Church in the 7th century, and, unlike many of the other buildings and ruins scattered Continue reading “Site 180: Rome’s Pantheon”
How lovely it is to be in Rome in late March. The weather is warm and sunny, the trees and flowers are in bloom, and the tourists are not overwhelming. Rome, of course, is no stranger to tourists, having been art of nearly every tourist’s European tour for Continue reading “Site 178: Rome’s Non-Catholic Cemetery”
When and if a cemetery in Rome gets mentioned, it’s usually the Non-Catholic Cemetery, where Keats and Shelley are buried, that get the attention. The Verano Cemetery, on the other hand, rarely seems to make any list, and it’s a shame, for Continue reading “Site 177: Rome’s Campo Verano”
My final day in Chernobyl (and Ukraine) started grey and drizzly. M had scheduled a tour for me inside the Chernobyl Power Plant, but it didn’t start until mid-morning, so we went exploring Chernobyl Town (for which the power plant was named). The town is Continue reading “Site 176: Chernobyl (Day 4)”
My third day in the exclusion zone started bright and sunny. Today we were headed to the Duga-1 radar array, also known as the Russian Woodpecker. It was built in 1976 as a way to detect any missles that might come over the horizon from the U.S. Now, satellite Continue reading “Site 175: Chernobyl (Day 3)”
Pripyat. If there is a by-word for what the world would look like if people disappeared suddenly, this town is it. Thirty-six hours after Reactor 4 exploded, the people of Pripyat were finally evacuated. This was a coordinated effort that had the entire population Continue reading “Site 174: Chernobyl (Day 2)”
I don’t know when I first thought about visiting Chernobyl – I think it’s been on my mind for years, probably from the first time I saw photos of the abandoned buildings in Pripyat. I remember when the accident was first announced to the world – Continue reading “Site 173: Chernobyl (Day 1)”
stone and dust 