Cemeteries to visit United Kingdom

This beautiful Victorian cemetery is a must-see when you're in the small village of Highgate. Among the anonymous are some 850 notables and celebrities, including Karl Marx and George Eliot. But it's the Gothic appearance of the tombs - angels, funerary urns, Celtic crosses, all surrounded by lush vegetation - that really stands out. Following bizarre incidents in the 1970s, vampire hunts shook public opinion. The latest famous arrival is George Michael, but his grave in a private plot is not accessible.

It was the first piece of land to become the property of the National Trust in 1895, and the people of Barmouth are very proud of it. From the top, you can admire Cardigan Bay, the Caernarfon Hills and even Bardsey Island. The trail runs along the cliff for 5 km and offers an impressive panorama of the town, the estuary and Cader Idris.

It's accessed by a path on the High Street. You will come face to face with "the Frenchman's grave" where Auguste Guyard, a Frenchman who lived in Barmouth, a great friend of Victor Hugo, is buried.

Owned by the city since 1869, this Protestant cemetery alone contains a page of Belfast's history. Here lie the people who "made" the history of the city, industrialists, politicians, businessmen and inventors. Celtic crosses testify to the acceptance of Irish symbols, until 1921 when these crosses became rare. The cemetery can be visited for its Victorian graves, some of which are real little (last) homes. Nearly 225,000 people are buried in this cemetery.

Milltown Cemetery, owned by the Catholic Church since 1869, traces the history of Belfast's republicans, some of whom died as a result of political events that separated the Protestant and Catholic communities. 154 republicans died for their cause of freedom and rights and are buried here (including Bobby Sands, Joe McDonnell and Kieran Doherty, three IRA volunteers who died on hunger strike in 1981). Memorial plaques are erected in memory of all these political activists.

It sounds silly to say that a cemetery is quiet, but that's the main interest of the place, this soothing and restful aspect. With its old Victorian graves, covered with moss and all slightly bent, the place does not lack charm. They only come alive with the presence of numerous squirrels who also enjoy the calm of the surroundings. If some English personalities are buried here, it is however the tombs of anonymous people which present the most interest. A beautiful place for a contemplative and serene moment.