Horniman Museum
the famous overstuffed walrus
A gloriously eccentric free museum in south London, home to the famously overstuffed walrus, plus sixteen acres of gardens with a proper skyline view.
Free to visit · Forest Hill · Forest Hill · SE23 3PQ
Opening: Daily 10am–5:30pm · gardens open later in summer
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.
Getting there: A short uphill walk from Forest Hill, on the Overground and the train from London Bridge. Worth the trip out of the centre.
Best time to go: A dry day, so you get the gardens and the view as well as the museum. Weekends are busy with families, weekday mornings are calm.
Insider tip: Walk to the top of the gardens behind the museum for the view. There is a bench-lined terrace looking right across London to the City towers, one of the best free skyline views in the south, and almost nobody outside the locals knows it is there.
Official site: https://www.horniman.ac.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide