The Victorian chapel

At the heart of Abney Park cemetery.

It was a dry bright day so, feeling rather intrigued by this place I set off to find out more about it.
I found the visitors centre and picked up some leaflets and a map and bought a book on its history.
I learned that it was originally formed of parts of two country estates which in 1830 were merged and established as a cemetery and formal gardens. The cemetery and the chapel at its centre were non - denominational and became known as a place for non - conformists and dissenters.
There are 40,000 graves there, including many of people of note and many military graves.

In time it became run down and was eventually acquired by Hackney council for one pound.
Local people campaigned to preserve it and it is now a woodland wildlife sanctuary, the only one of its kind in inner London.

It's certainly a very peaceful place, big enough to get lost in, for the air to be clean and the city sounds and smells to fade away. It is busy with lots of birds, I heard jays there today and apparently there are woodpeckers as well as many other species.
It's completely wild, overrun with brambles and ivy and wild flowers and there are touching little tributes to some of the great trees that have grown old there.

I had a great time exploring and was there so long the city streets were a shock to emerge onto again.