If you’re lucky enough to be in Edinburgh, don’t forget to have a lazy sunday stroll in the Old Calton Cemetery, and zg-izag between the most elaborate and stunning examples of funeral arts in all of Scotland.
Established on the northeast of the city center in 1718, the Calton gives a spookily authentic feeling of being trapped in a Hammer film setting, expecting the devilish Black Donald at any moment of this delightful promenade. The graves and mausoleum of this Scottish “Pere Lachaise” cemetery vie with each other over the title of most quirky and elegant.
Several notable people of Edinburgh’s history rest here, including philosopher David Hume, publisher William Blackwood and clergyman Dr. Robert Candlish, beyond that, several sober looking monuments mark the resting place of martyrs past.
Skulls and macabre symbolism is elegantly carved in each of the stones, and silent alleys invite visitors to wander; the sepulchral beauty of the Calton Cemetery offers a fascinating journey through the last memorial of forgotten strangers.