Nunhead Cemetery: Free Guided Tours Every Other Sunday, No Booking

There is a free guided tour of Nunhead Cemetery roughly every other Sunday, it runs an hour and a half to two hours, and you do not have to book.

That is the part almost nobody knows, and it is better than most paid walking tours in London.

“We do not charge for our tours but we are always grateful to receive donations. When asked, we suggest a minimum donation of £3 per person, all proceeds going to our general funds for the maintenance of the cemetery.”

Three pounds suggested, nothing compulsory, and “Schools/colleges will not be expected to make a donation.”

They are led by experienced volunteer guides from the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery, cover the significant parts of the 52-acre site, and take in the Victorian garden cemetery movement, the private company that owned the place, the principal monuments, the original planting and the ecology that grew over it.

Assemble inside the Linden Grove entrance, past the West Lodge then immediately right, in front of the FONC cabin. Usually 2pm on a Sunday.

And if you want to join the Friends afterwards, the subscription is £2 a year.

The themed tours are the reason to check the schedule

These are not variations on the same walk. The published list of themes:

Nunhead and the Music Hall. Woodland tree and shrub walks. Women of Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead and the Battle of Waterloo. Military Connections from 1789 to World War Two. Nunhead’s World War One casualties. Nunhead’s World War Two casualties. Visits to the Anglican chapel and its crypt. Cemetery Symbols. Black History walk.

The crypt one is the scarce one, because the chapel crypt is not otherwise open.

The schedule published on 6 October 2026 ran:

Sunday 11 October, 2.15pm: Crypt and Chapel tours, with further tours at 3:00 and 3:45.

Saturday 17 October, 11am and 2pm: London Month of the Dead, pre-booking only.

Sunday 18 October, 2pm: Black History Month tour.

Saturday 24 October, 2pm: Fungi Foray with mycologist Clifford Davy.

Sunday 25 October, 2pm: General Tour.

Sunday 8 November, 2pm: Great War Veterans and Connections.

Sunday 15 November, 2pm: Cemetery Symbols.

Sunday 22 November, 2pm: Woodland Trail.

Sunday 29 November, 2pm: General Tour.

Sunday 13 December, 2pm: Nunhead and the Military.

Sunday 27 December, 2pm: General Tour.

Note the last one. There is a free guided tour two days after Christmas.

The Annual Open Day is Saturday 15 May 2027, 11am to 5pm.

For a group, tours can be arranged any day except Sunday, morning or afternoon between 10:00 and 16:00, a little later in summer. “We do not usually take evening walks.” Booked by email or phone.

Their own opening times contradict each other

Four lines, published identically on three pages, and March appears twice:

November to March: 8.30am to 4.00pm.

March: 8.30am to 5.00pm.

April to September: 8.30am to 7.00pm.

October: 8.30am to 5.00pm.

So March is both a 4pm close and a 5pm close. The sensible reading is that the first line means November to February and the second is the March exception, matching October at the other end of the year. But as written, a March visitor cannot tell from the page whether the gates shut at four or five.

Either way the shape is clear. It opens at 8.30am every day of the year, and the close moves from 4pm in deep winter to 7pm in summer. The site adds that the times are subject to alteration, so in February a 3.30pm arrival is sensible.

Entry is free. There is no ticket at any time.

Free parking and secure bag storage, at a cemetery

Two facilities you would not expect, and both are published.

“Toilet and secure bag storage facilities are available on site and free parking is available by the Main Gates on Linden Grove, SE15 3LP.”

Free parking at the main gates, in zone 2, which is unusual on its own. And somewhere to leave a bag while you walk 52 acres of hillside, which almost no free London attraction offers.

The site’s own warning about footwear is worth taking: “Visitors should wear suitable clothing and stout footwear, especially if it has been wet beforehand, as some paths are a little uneven or can become very muddy.”

The chapel and crypt are the inaccessible bit, and they say so precisely

Honest rather than vague, which is what makes it usable.

“There is a fairly easy climb up to the West Hill. This can be challenging for wheelchairs/scooters when descending but we have managed this in the past.”

Then: “Unfortunately, the chapel and crypt are not currently wheelchair accessible. There are four steps up to the chapel and one large step down to the crypt entrance. Once inside, the floors are flat.”

Four steps and one large step. That is the whole barrier, stated as a number rather than as a regret, and FONC carries full public liability insurance for the tours.

Photography: the Friends cannot give you permission

A jurisdiction point that catches photographers, and the answer is simpler than it looks.

“The Friends of Nunhead Cemetery do not have the remit to approve or otherwise requests for photography or filming in Nunhead Cemetery. The Cemetery is owned by Southwark Council and you will need to contact the Southwark Film Office for permission.”

But for most visitors there is nothing to arrange:

“Personal photography and short videos for personal use, i.e. personal social media, family photo albums and similar, do not require a permit.”

Personal social media is explicitly fine. A permit is needed for feature films, TV, short films, student films, charity promos, music videos, adverts, showreels, and stills for a gallery, a company’s social media, a brand campaign, a portfolio or a magazine. Reduced rates apply to short films, student films, charity promos and showreels.

So the line is commercial intent, not the size of the camera.

What is actually there

A Grade II* Victorian burial ground, one of London’s Magnificent Seven, opened as the cemetery of All Saints, Nunhead in July 1840.

52 acres on a hillside, with around 270,000 people buried in it. Two neo-classical gate lodges at Linden Grove, the stabilised ruin of the Anglican chapel, a formal avenue of towering limes, and curved paths that run off into woodland.

It is a designated nature reserve as well as a cemetery, which is why the fungi walks and woodland trails exist.

From the top of the site there is a view of St Paul’s Cathedral. That is the thing to walk up for.

FONC’s Monument Inscriptions Team has recorded thousands of monuments since the 1970s, and the inscriptions are searchable on their website, which makes it one of the easier Magnificent Seven cemeteries to research a name in.

How it compares with Abney Park

The other Magnificent Seven cemetery that works as a free woodland walk, in Stoke Newington, and the two differ in ways that decide which one to pick on a given day.

Abney Park closes in high wind. This is the standout rule: “Abney Park will be closed for public safety when there is a yellow wind warning in place over London. The park will reopen once the wind has abated and on-site safety checks have been made.” A yellow warning, not amber or red. Nunhead publishes no equivalent, so on a blustery day Nunhead is the safer bet.

Abney Park is open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Stated plainly, which very few London attractions of any kind can say.

Abney Park closes at dusk rather than on a timetable, opening at 8am, with exact closing times published a fortnight at a time. For 5 to 18 October 2026 it was 18:00.

Abney Park has no parking at all: “We are unable to offer visitors parking facilities.” Nunhead has free parking at the gates. If you are driving, that settles it.

Abney Park has a café and accessible toilets in the Sable building on the right of the forecourt from the Stoke Newington High Street entrance, and you do not need to go through the café to reach the toilets. Its visitors’ centre is currently closed.

Abney Park has level access at the main entrance and a new ramp and wider paths at the Church Street entrance, though the internal drive is cobbled and the paths get slippery when wet.

Grave searches at Abney Park need an appointment. Staff are not on site every day and there is no public access to the office, so without an appointment they may not be able to help. Nunhead’s inscriptions are searchable online instead.

Abney Park is at 219 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0LH, with Stoke Newington station 200 metres from the High Street entrance.

Getting to Nunhead

Nunhead Cemetery, Linden Grove, London SE15 3LP.

Direct trains from Victoria and Blackfriars run every day of the week to Nunhead, which is less than 10 minutes’ walk from the Linden Grove gates.

Buses: the P12 and 78 pass the far end of Linden Grove, and the 343 and 484 pass near the Limesford Road gate. Both are under ten minutes from their respective gates.

For a tour, use Linden Grove rather than Limesford Road unless told otherwise.

How to plan it

Come on a Sunday at 2pm for a free tour. No booking, suggested £3.

Want the crypt: watch for the Crypt and Chapel dates. It is not otherwise open.

Winter afternoons: the gates may shut at 4pm. Arrive by 3.30pm.

Driving: free parking at the Main Gates on Linden Grove.

Walk up to the top of the site for the view of St Paul’s.

Wear boots. The paths get very muddy.

Taking personal photos: no permit needed. Anything commercial goes through the Southwark Film Office.

A windy day: choose Nunhead, because Abney Park shuts on a yellow wind warning.

Christmas Day: choose Abney Park, which is open.

Nunhead Cemetery

Address

Linden Grove, London SE15 3LP

Nearest

Nunhead, less than 10 minutes on foot, with direct trains from Victoria and Blackfriars daily. The P12 and 78 buses pass the end of Linden Grove, and the 343 and 484 the Limesford Road gate

Hours

Open daily including weekends from 8.30am. Closes 4pm November to February, 5pm in March and October, and 7pm April to September. Times are subject to alteration

Booking

None needed to visit, and none needed for the regular Sunday tours. Group tours are booked by email or phone for any day except Sunday, between 10:00 and 16:00

Price

Free. Guided tours are also free, with a suggested 3 pound donation. Friends of Nunhead Cemetery membership is 2 pounds a year

Standing

A Grade II* Victorian burial ground of 52 acres on a hillside, one of London’s Magnificent Seven, opened in July 1840 with around 270,000 burials, now also a designated nature reserve, with a view of St Paul’s from the top of the site

How to get in

Free guided tours run roughly every other Sunday at 2pm, last an hour and a half to two hours and need no booking, with a suggested 3 pound donation. Themed walks cover the music hall, Waterloo, military connections, cemetery symbols, Black history and the chapel crypt, which is not otherwise open. There is free parking at the Main Gates on Linden Grove and secure bag storage on site. The published opening times list March twice, at both a 4pm and a 5pm close. The chapel and crypt are not wheelchair accessible, with four steps up to the chapel and one large step down to the crypt. Personal photography and short videos need no permit; anything commercial goes through the Southwark Film Office.

Where to go next

Highgate Cemetery is the ticketed one of the Magnificent Seven, and Peckham covers the area next door.

Free things to do in London covers the rest, and the parks page covers the green space.

Questions we get asked

Are the tours of Nunhead Cemetery free?

Yes. The Friends of Nunhead Cemetery run a regular programme of free guided tours, usually at 2pm on Sunday afternoons, with no booking required. They last between an hour and a half and two hours. A minimum donation of £3 per person is suggested when asked, and schools and colleges are not expected to donate. Private group tours can be arranged for any day except Sunday.

What are Nunhead Cemetery's opening times?

Open daily including weekends from 8.30am. The published closing times are 4pm from November, 5pm in March and October, and 7pm from April to September, though March appears in two of the listed bands with different times, so in early spring treat 4pm as the safe assumption. Times are subject to alteration and entry is always free.

Can you visit the crypt at Nunhead Cemetery?

Only on the Crypt and Chapel tour dates, which FONC publishes in its tour schedule. The chapel crypt is not otherwise open, and those tours usually run in several slots on one afternoon. Neither the chapel nor the crypt is wheelchair accessible, with four steps up to the chapel and one large step down into the crypt.

Is there parking at Nunhead Cemetery?

Yes, free parking by the Main Gates on Linden Grove, SE15 3LP. The site also has toilets and secure bag storage, which is unusual for a free London attraction. Abney Park, the comparable Magnificent Seven cemetery in Stoke Newington, offers no visitor parking at all.

Can you take photographs in Nunhead Cemetery?

Personal photography and short videos for personal use, including personal social media and family albums, need no permit. Commercial work does, and the Friends cannot grant it because the cemetery is owned by Southwark Council, so permits go through the Southwark Film Office. That covers film, TV, music videos, adverts, showreels and stills for a gallery, portfolio, magazine or brand campaign.

Is Nunhead Cemetery or Abney Park better to visit?

They differ in useful ways. Nunhead has free parking at the gates, secure bag storage and a regular programme of free Sunday tours, and closes on a published timetable. Abney Park has a café and step-free main entrance, is open on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, closes at dusk rather than a fixed time, and shuts entirely whenever a yellow wind warning is in place over London. On a windy day go to Nunhead; on Christmas Day go to Abney Park.

How many people are buried in Nunhead Cemetery?

Around 270,000, across 52 acres. The cemetery opened as the burial ground of All Saints, Nunhead in July 1840 and is one of London's Magnificent Seven. The Friends' Monument Inscriptions Team has recorded thousands of monuments since the 1970s and the inscriptions are searchable on their website, which makes tracing a name easier here than at most of the seven.