Tours


  • March 6, 2020
    6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

LGBTQ+ people have always lived here, which means they’ve always died here too! Reacquaint yourselves with the gay dead of Bristol’s magnificent Arnos Vale Cemetery. As part of the Life, Death (and the Rest) festival, and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The lives of the queerly departed are mostly unheard and unmentioned; buried deeply beneath forgotten (more…)


  • March 7, 2020
    6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

LGBTQ+ people have always lived here, which means they’ve always died here too! Reacquaint yourselves with the gay dead of Bristol’s magnificent Arnos Vale Cemetery. As part of the Life, Death (and the Rest) festival, and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The lives of the queerly departed are mostly unheard and unmentioned; buried (more…)


  • March 8, 2020
    10:30 am - 12:00 pm

  ‘The cemetery is a haven for bird-life, mammals and invertebrates plus wonderful plants. This walk promises a unique aural experience hearing the gorgeous songs of resident and migrant bird species and learning about our other cemetery residents. Our ecologist Mary Wood will share hints and  tips on bird and mammal identification and tell you (more…)


  • March 8, 2020
    1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Bristol poets, the IsamBards, will take you on a poetic journey around some of the historic, poignant, beautiful and unforgettable places within Arnos Vale. They will share their original poems inspired by this special place at several stops on the tour.  This is a chance to celebrate Arnos Vale in life, death and the rest, (more…)


  • March 14, 2020
    12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Ecologist Mary will take you on a journey around amazing trees that dominate the cemetery. Winter can be a tricky time of year to identify trees, when many native species have shed their autumnal leaves and bare branches stretch to the sky. But without the distraction of their leafy crowns it is a fantastic opportunity (more…)


  • MMM tour 20/03
    March 20, 2020
    7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Uncover some of the more unusual and outrageous stories ‘buried’ in Arnos Vale on our Murder, Mayhem and Mystery Tour. Our expert guide will share stories of murder, rioting, adultery and more on this evening tour. You will visit beautiful memorials in our amazing listed landscape and hear terrible tales and sinister stories.  Please bring (more…)


  • Morbid Curiosity Tour
    March 20, 2020
    7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Have you ever walked around a cemetery or graveyard and thought ‘I wonder how they died?’.  Well now’s your chance to find out. Hear about drownings and hangings, murder and unfortunate accidents, a ‘crinoline death’, diseases of the past such as cholera and smallpox, childbirth complications and fatal childhood diseases. Bring a torch (as it (more…)


  • April 4, 2020
    7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Take a dusk amble, in search of the bats and other creatures that call Arnos Vale home. Find out about the graves and grave digging with our bat expert and ex-grave digger Dan Flew. This activity is led by a local Bat expert using detection equipment and expert knowledge of the site, so you’ll visit (more…)


  • May 14, 2020
    7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Explore the ethereal beauty of Bristol’s “Necropolis” with this evening tour and here some stories of Fond Farewells and Grand Goodbyes. Find out about Victorian Funeral traditions, learn about burial practices and hear stories from beyond the grave. You’ll travel along paths overhung with creeping branches, descend into the mortuary crypt and listen out for (more…)