The trouble with visiting cemeteries in November is that they are apt to close early! And there was a great deal of confusion about what time this one closed at, with even the entrance signs saying two different things!
The Swan Whisperer had wanted a walk this afternoon, and so did I, so we agreed to go to the cemetery, as it was one we hadn't visited - we have been to Nunhead and to Brompton, of the "Magnificent Seven", and this one is nearest to us and probably the easiest to get to. We got a 37 bus, and then a 2 to Norwood, which stops practically at the cemetery gates.
The famous people who have been buried there includ Sir Hiram Maxim, of machine-gun fame, James Greathead, of the eponymous shield, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the evangelist, and Isabella Beeton, the cookery book writer. Sadly, we didn't see any of their graves - we missed the Maxim and Greathead ones (the cemetery does have a very great many graves in it), and just before we got to the Spurgeon one, they came round saying that they were closing and we needed to leave.
It was really confusing, though - Google maps said it closed at 6, as did one of the signs on the entrance gate, but another sign said it closed at 4! In fact, it was about 4:15 or thereabouts when the van came round. We were fairly near the back exit, so went out that way and found ourselves by a 322 stop - and, miraculously, one was coming in a couple of minutes! Then we were able to change at Herne Hill on to a 37, and so home.
I think I should like to go back there - it is, as all cemeteries are, very peaceful. But maybe a bit earlier in the year - and certainly earlier in the day!
