I’m pretty sure that I needn’t visit London again. I’ve been twice now; it’s fine and there’s cool stuff to do, sure, but I’m not in love with the place. Yet one of the best spots I’ve discovered in the past few years is there, accessible through a hole in a fence next to a cemetery.
My most recent trip to London was with my friend Caroline this past fall; we were visiting our other friend Christopher, who’s been living there for a couple years. Since I’d been to London before and we were staying with someone who actually knew the city, our activities were a little more creative than the usual sightseeing. Our most successful day included a visit to the Kenwood House (the former home of Dido Belle, whose life is depicted in the movie Belle), taking a dip in a public pond in Hampstead Heath (unfortunately, the Ladies’ Pond was closed for repairs, so we went swimming in a very chilly mixed gender pond—but fear not, there were some topless middle-aged women sunbathing in the women’s locker room), then stopping at a pub for my first ever Pimm’s Cup (delicious!).
After these adventures in Central London, Caroline and I headed south in the late afternoon, hopping on national rail to the Nunhead Cemetery (about four miles away), which Christopher and his roommate had recommended. I’m a fan of cemeteries in general, and we were told that this one was beautiful, quiet, and creepy. We made it there towards the end of the day, when the sun was starting to drop and only a few people were ambling around. A woman sat on a bench with her toddler playing in front of her, a man walked his dog. We joined them, stumbling through the crumbling tombs covered in ivy. It was peaceful.
After wandering through the the cemetery, we tried to find the Nunhead Reservoir, which Caroline’s friend had suggested we put on our to-do list. Her directions were sketchy at best; something about a fence that ran along one side of the cemetery with a hole in it. After a bit of wandering in various directions, we found the fence and the hole. We scrambled through, then walked up a big grassy hill, apparently man-made and under which water was housed.