Visit the atmospheric Pope’s Grotto

In the 1720s, the poet Alexander Pope dug a series of tunnels underneath his house in Twickenham — and 300 years later, they’re open to the public to explore.
This is Pope’s Grotto.Alexander Pope bought a villa next to the Thames in Twickenham in 1719, and at some point shortly afterwards decided to dig a grotto underneath the house. Atmospheric grottos were a popular folly for the rich to build, but while most are little more than small shallow spaces, Pope dug a long tunnel a