Glasgow Necropolis, Scotland

  

  - darkometer rating:  1 -
 
A Victorian cemetery right next to Glasgow's cathedral, Scotland, Great Britain. It's one of the most stunning cemeteries in the country – and its inner city hillside location is quite exceptional too.

More background info: The cemetery was deliberately planned with Pere Lachaise in Paris in mind. It may not quite match it, but is certainly one of the most stunning settings of any cemetery in Great Britain (although Highgate in London is unbeaten!).

The proposal to turn a former park into the Necropolis was agreed on in 1928. The erection of the central John Knox monument on the top of the hill was started the same year, before the cemetery proper got going, which received its first permanent resident in 1832, interestingly a Jewish jeweller – the cemetery is interdenominational! Now there are some 3500 tombs.

 
 

What there is to see: basically just a beautiful cemetery with some impressive big mausoleums and tombs – and a view over Glasgow. Here it's less about spotting graves of famous or notorious people, it's more just about the atmosphere. A look inside the beautiful (and nicely gloomy) Glasgow Cathedral has to be part of a visit.

 
 

Location: to the north-east of Glasgow's inner city centre, about a mile from the central train station.
 
Google maps locator:[55.863,-4.231]

  

 

Access and costs: fairly easy to get to, and free.

 

Details: if you don't mind a little stroll through this interesting city, then its perfectly walkable from central Glasgow. The nearest underground station would be Buchanan Street, from where it's still a bit of a walk. Either up Cathedral Street eastwards to the end, or, from central George Square, walk down George Street eastwards and all the way to Strathclyde University and then turn left into Carlisle Street. The paths up the Necropolis add extra walking time!
 
Opening times: daily from 7 a.m. till dusk,
 
Admission free.

 
 

Time required: depends solely on how long you want to stroll around the cemetery and how much you want to study individual graves. (Well, the weather at this exposed location may also play a role …) Anything from half an hour should be decent. Plus walking time and a look in the Cathedral.

 
 

Combinations with other dark destinations: see Great Britain.

 
 

Combinations with non-dark destinations: needless to say: Glasgow. It's a fabulous place. Scotland's largest city ahead of its capital Edinburgh, and often seen as inferior to the more famous Scottish metropolis as a tourist destination. Glasgow doesn't get the crowds that Edinburgh gets – but that can be an advantage! Of the two cities it has the less famous and iconic sights (and crowds!) but it compensates for it by being a particularly friendly city (the fact that it receives fewer tourists probably helps in this respect). It has long shed its old reputation for being a grimy and grim place – it's been cleaned up and inner city development has rarely achieved such an improvement. It's lovely to just wander around in the easy to navigate centre.