Highgate, although small, can be difficult for a stranger to navigate without a map. The old village has many twists and turns, and many hills. Indeed, to avoid pointlessly trekking up and down hills, or missing out entire streets, I would recommend that anyone wishing to visit Highgate plans their trip in advance and obtains a good local history guide to get the most out of their day.
When you get to Highgate Village you would do well to visit Highgate Bookshop and pick yourself up a map and even some local history books to read or DVDs to watch when you get back home.
The bookshop is conveniently situated on the High Street, on the corner of Bisham Gardens, near Swains Lane. Here’s where to find them on a map if you get lost though!
Contact details:
9 Highgate High St, London, N6 5JR
0208 348 8202
Another bookshop which has an excellent collection of maps and other publications by local authors is Muswell Hill Bookshop, which might be convenient if you were approaching Highgate from the north. You can find directions on their website below.
Contact details:
70 – 72 Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill N10 3HN
0208 444 7588
http://www.muswellhillbookshop.com/home.html
The two handbooks below are reasonably priced, and should ensure that you are able to find and appreciate Highgate’s places of interest and architectural anomalies with relative ease. Both are usually obtainable from the bookshops above, and are parts of series of walks which you might also like to try. Personally I would recommend you start with one of the following:
Title: Highgate Walks
Author: Joan Schwitzer
Publisher: Hornsey Historical Society
Price: £3 (plus 50p P and P direct from the publishers.)
ISBN: 0 905794 33 8
Title: Highgate Village to Kenwood House
Author: The Highgate Society
Publisher: The Highgate Society
Price: £3
ISBN: 978 0957 207912