Walking Through Hallowed Rows

Walking Through Hallowed Rows
            I love a good cemetery. As a kid, I not only liked classic monster movies and things that go bump in the night, but felt a special stir of the heart from the first cemetery I walked through.
            I grew up near a wonderful cemetery in my hometown of Holland Patent, New York, rows of old gravestones on rolling hills surrounded by trees that turn orange and gold in autumn, bare branches black against the snow in winter.
            My favorite cemetery from childhood, however, is the one my grandmother took us to on Tug Hill, New York, a place famous for long, harsh winters. Gravestones were tilted, some overgrown with grape vines, older graves sunk into the ground. That cemetery is hard to find even for those who know about it. Best epitaph ever, Where you are now, I once was, too. Where I am now, you too will be, was carved on a headstone hidden behind a fallen tree at the back of the graveyard.
            When traveling around Asia in my twenties, a fellow traveler from England told me that if I ever went to London, I had to visit Highgate Cemetery. I never forgot that suggestion and went there over thirty years ago. I liked it so much that I returned again on a recent trip to visit my son who works in London.
            I wondered if the powerful feeling of that iconic cemetery would strike me again. The moment I set foot on Highgate’s grounds, its atmospheric spirit whooshed through me. A fox looking back at us from atop a grave was pure magic. Highgate Cemetery is a treasure trove of moody monuments and jumbled pathways with fallen gravestones.
            Cemeteries are one of my favorite places to take photographs, and favorite places to explore by walking, but I do not feature them in Hike Notes for HikingAutism.com because cemeteries deserve respectful quiet without me steering people there for hikes. I make this rare exception for Highgate Cemetery because they encourage people to visit, for a fee, so that they can maintain the grounds.
            This week’s highlighted hike is a World Walks contribution, Highgate Cemetery Walk, London. When my son who works in London joined me for a visit there, I nudged him to add Highgate Cemetery to the World Walks collection.
            HikingAutism shares mostly Northern California hikes, but readers enjoy seeing the variety of walking sites in other countries and parts of the U.S.
            Have a favorite walk? Share with readers in World Walks! Two or three sentences and a few photos allow other readers to share your enjoyment. See the World Walks link for how to submit your walk to share.
 
This week’s Hike Notes is a new World Walks entry:
Highgate Cemetery Walk, London
 
              Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
          If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777