Horniman Museum & Gardens

2014-06-01

I have visited most of the capital's museums now, but one still not checked off the list was the Horniman Museum in South East London. With the weather predicted to be quite nice this weekend I thought I would take the long journey down from the West to see what it had to offer. 

Set up in the early 1900's the Horinman is essentially a taxidermy museum, with a few other changing exhibits on every few months, plus spacious pleasure gardens and a small farm animal walk and aquarium to accompany it. I first heard about the museum from when I interned at Hat-trick design a few years ago and they had worked on the branding for the museum. This is one of my favourite marks by them and it was lovely to see how it worked and developed in the flesh.

One of the main attractions of the museum is the gardens, which had fantastic views back over to London when you looked down at the top off the hill. There are also other hidden gems such as a band stand, sound garden, farmers market and cactus area. After tearing ourselves away from what the outside space had to offer we entered what seemed to be a 1970's biology class. The museum was not on the same technological level as some of the main London museums; but had a certain charm and wear and tear that took me back to my old science classes at school. A range of animals, fish and birds were on display including a huge walrus that was situated in the centre of the hall, there was a lot of pickled insides and cut up bits and bobs I didn't understand but all in all was very interesting and a very odd day out! The area surrounding the museum is a bit grotty but I did love the shutter painting I found at a butchers shop on the way back. 

 

The museum is worth a visit, not only as it is free and unusual but also for the fantastic outdoor space. Take a picnic and go on a sunny day is my recommendation but eat first!