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| 221B Baker Street |
The quaint Victorian home is littered with interesting paraphernalia, violins, dusty books, classical portraits, oriental coffee tables, stuffed birds and pinned butterflies, thermometers, glass bottles containing weird concoctions and all manner of bric-a-brac. An intricately patterned Persian carpet clashes horribly with the yellow and pink wallpaper, while a cosy fire roars in the hearth. On a small wooden table in front of the fire lies four noteworthy items: a bowler hat, a magnifying glass, a meerschaum pipe and a deerstalker hat.
Have you managed to put the clues together? Where in the world are we? Elementary, my dear reader. 221B Baker Street, of course, in the heart of London. Not a Victorian London, for outside an iconic red double-decker bus passes by the window, but inside we are immersed in the world of a fictional character that has recently gained popularity again with a little help from Hollywood and the BBC.
For those of you who are not familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s renowned detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, please indulge yourself in the fantastic BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch portraying the brilliant title character to perfection, with his long-suffering companion played by Martin Freeman. When you’re done there, go ahead and read some of the original short stories.
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| Entrance to the Sherlock Holmes Museum's gift shop |
Finding ourselves in London for a day, Gareth and I unanimously agreed that it was about time that we visited the Sherlock Holmes museum. We were delighted by the friendly bobby guarding the entrance to the house, and climbed the narrow flight of stairs up in anticipation. The museum itself was interesting enough for all the strange artefacts that filled Holmes, Watson and Mrs Hudson’s rooms, but only die-hard fans would find it entertaining for much longer than half an hour.
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| A replica of the fictional Holmes abode. |
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| The Hound of the Baskervilles |
The upstairs rooms contain wax dolls in various scenes from the books and it was fun spotting the head of the hound of the Baskervilles or pulling faces at Holmes’ arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
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| Notes from Sherlock Holmes fans from across the globe |
But to be honest, the souvenir shop next door, with books, pipes, soft toys, business cards and so much more, was a lot more entertaining (and free to enter besides).
For more posts in the Winter Escape 2012 series, click here. Labels: Europe, London, United Kingdom, Winter Escape 2012
