We’re lucky to have one of London’s most beautiful Victorian cemeteries in Stoke Newington. Abney Park also doubles up as a nature reserve, after about twenty paces through the wrought iron gates the hubbub of urban living is left behind and all you can hear is birdsong. Last time I was there, a woodpecker was yammering amongst the mature trees that used to form part of an arboretum that, in its time, eclipsed Kew Gardens.

Abney Park plays host to a wonderful selection of ornate statuary, including angels, urns and elaborate Celtic crosses. My favourite is a sleeping, white marble lion that sits on the tomb of Frank C Bostock – a remarkable man who was known as the early 20th century ‘Animal King’. He paraded a huge pride of lions and tigers around the world, introduced the boxing kangaroo to the public and hosted ‘a party of Abyssinians and a group of trained hyenas’ at the Paris Hippodrome. He came to Stoke Newington and died of the flu, and his tomb, guarded by a peaceful sleeping lion, has been here ever since.

After a stroll around the cemetery I always love to stop in at Homa – a wonderful café and restaurant just across from the cemetery gates. They serve delicious Mediterranean food, pastries and excellent coffee, with silver milk jugs and complementary bottled water. It’s a great place to people-watch, read the selection of daily newspapers, and the pizzas are truly some of the best I’ve tasted.

Photo courtesy of El Freddy on Flickr and HOMA