Did you know that although the 221B Baker Street of Sherlock Holmes was fictional, today you can actually step into Sherlock’s study at 221B Baker Street, London?
Before your visit you may want to purchase a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories to read during your trip.
- Purchase The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Other Stories on Amazon*
- Purchase The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection on Bookshop*
*Disclosure: These are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a book through these links I’ll make a few cents at no extra cost to you! You can support indie bookstores by purchasing through Bookshop!
I’ve been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since about age 10. I was visiting Paris with my parents and when we arrived in the apartment they had rented for the week, I found someone had left a book on the coffee table. It was a compilation of some of the greatest Sherlock stories. I picked it up, and I’m afraid to say it made a greater impression on me than did Paris! After that I made my Dad read The Hound of the Baskervilles out loud to me. So when I finally got the chance to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum at the very real 221B Baker Street, London, to say I was excited would be an understatement.
Most tourist attractions did not open until 10:30 – 11am. Only one, the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened at 9:30am. So we decided this would be our starting place for the day, that is, after a stop at the small French bakery on our street corner for second breakfast. We took the tube to the Baker Street stop and easily located the museum. (We used the app CityMapper to navigate London.) 221B Baker Street was just down the block next to a Beatles memorabilia shop. We were not the only tourists that had realized this was one of the few attractions open this early. We joined the queue forming on the sidewalk. At 9:30am we were able to enter the gift shop to purchase tickets and then we rejoined the queue. The museum is tiny so only a few people were allowed in at a time. A man dressed as a British Bobby stood in the doorway letting people in as others exited.
We waited about 15 minutes to enter. As I waited I read the pamphlet that was our ticket; it stated that the building we were about to enter “was registered as a lodging house from 1860-1934 and therefore represents an authentic lodging house of the period,” much like that in which Sherlock Holmes would have lived. The museum was very small and crowded – both with tourists and artifacts. The museum is full of Victorian age artifacts that relate to the mysteries written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Each floor has two rooms. The first floor had two small rooms, Sherlock’s bedroom and study. These rooms had cozy fires going in small fire places.
The next floor had rooms representing Watson and Mrs. Hudson. The third floor rooms contained wax figures depicting vignettes from several of the stories. These were a bit creepy. There was also a small, old bathroom at the top of the stairs. I thought the museum charming and entertaining and well worth the 10 pound entrance fee, and a good way to spend the hour before the rest of tourist London awakened on this Saturday morning.
Before departing, we did one more in-depth examination of the Sherlock Museum gift shop.
Looking for more Sherlock themed things to do in London? Check out my vlog about the StoryTourist Sherlock self-guided walk.
Wondering where to go after visiting the Sherlock Museum? How about visiting the Peter Pan Statue at Kensington Gardens, it’s only about a mile away, an easy walk from the museum.
Looking for more literary destinations in London? Check out my post London Literary Sites For Book Lovers
Let’s Chat!
Are you more of a Sherlock or a Watson? Would you like to have experienced Sherlock’s London or are you happy staying in the present? Have you book to the Sherlock Holmes Museum? Do you want to go? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Like this post? Save it for later or share it with a friend!
[…] Read the next post in the 2015 Literary England Trip series here! […]