I have been meaning, for AGES, to visit the Horniman Museum and Gardens – this weekend I did, and what a delight.
My main interest was the taxidermy… of course. They have a massive room and mezzanine of badly stuffed Victorian fauna, which is practically my favourite thing. I particularly enjoy really awful taxidermy, where the eyes are put in wonky, or the animal is posed with a particularly camp gait.
(yes, that’s a stuffed Walrus) – I adored the wee birds, and the butterflies, was a bit disturbed by the birds of prey, loved the rodents, hated the primates and found I have a mild phobia of stuffed sea-life, hyperventilation-city…
I’m aware not everyone enjoys the sight of a stuffed animal, so I’ll keep it to a minimum… maybe just include him, he’s a shrew:
Once I had had enough of death, I had to go and have a look at the live animals in the aquarium, including the beauteous jellyfish:
BUT – the nicest thing about the Horniman Museum, is that it is set on an inauspicious hill in South East London, set in 16 acres of amazing gardens, including a medicinal garden and a conservatory based on the design of Crystal Palace.
The gardens open at 7.30am, and, being a beautiful day, I was there early…
The details:
100 London Rd
Lewisham, London SE23
Daily 10.30am – 5.30pm except 24 – 26 December
Entrance to the Museum and Gardens is FREE. A charge is made for some major temporary exhibitions.
