Arnos Vale Cemetery was officially reopened to the public this morning by the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Chris Davies. It was the culmination of two years of hard work on the 45-acre site, financed by a £5 million of grants from Bristol City Council, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund grant, which saw the restoration of many of the listed buildings and landscaping improvements.

The Victorian ‘garden cemetery’ is a fascinating place and is so large that every time you visit you can discover something new. More than 300,000 people are buried there, from ordinary Bristolians of all classes to hundreds of war graves, including three holders of the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for valour.

The cemetery’s most famous grave is that of Raja Rammohun Roy (left and below), an Indian social reformer who died in Stapleton during a visit to Bristol in 1833. A statue of him was erected on College between the Council House and the Central Library to mark the 50th anniversary of Indian independence.

There are dozens of listed monuments, and many other interesting features dotten around the cemetery, much of which lie hidden among undergrowth, which draws many visitors to the area to see the animals and insects, plants, trees and flowers throughout the seasons.

To mark the official reopening, a number of events are taking place over the next few days, including a bat walk tomorrow evening; tours, workshops and live music on Saturday; and a dawn chorus ramble early on Monday.

For the full list of what’s happening, visit the events page of the Arnos Vale website.