Horniman Museum

The lowdown

The Horniman is the project of a Victorian tea trader who travelled the world and brought half of it home. The result is a wonderfully odd free museum of natural history, world cultures and musical instruments, perched on a hill in Forest Hill with views back over the city.

Its star is the walrus, a vast Victorian taxidermy specimen stuffed so full and so smooth that it has none of the wrinkles a real walrus should have. The taxidermist had simply never seen one. It is the unofficial mascot of south London and worth the trip on its own. Around it sit overstuffed cases of birds, a hands-on music room and a gallery of masks and objects from around the globe.

Outside, the sixteen acres of free gardens are half the day out. There is an animal walk, a bandstand, a meadow and a terrace with a long view across London. The aquarium and the butterfly house cost extra, but the museum and the gardens, the best of it, cost nothing.