My Mum had wanted to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum ever since we walked past it when we went to the zoo; however it took me three years to finally take her there. She is huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, the originals...lol

My Mum had her out camera before we even got inside; there is the famous 221b black door outside for you to pose next too. My Mum was in her element, we all had our turn standing in front of the door. We went midweek during term time and there were no characters outside, but I have walked past many times to see a period `Peeler` or policeman standing outside for you to pose with.

You walk directly into the shop which was not great for me as I had a nine year old (I home-educate before people say he should be in school) and a twenty month old. Straight away they were eyeing up what they could buy...grrrr! The shop is lovely though, all Victorian and old style, the staff are all dressed in period clothes which adds to the atmosphere. You walk to the rear of the shop to buy your tickets, which are £6.00 for adults and £4.00 for children and concessions, which I thought was very reasonable for London prices. It is open 9.30am till 6pm.

Then you walk into the world of Sherlock Holmes; everywhere in this museum is period, you have three floors of this listed building to explore. You wander through the living quarters of the fictitious detective and his trusted Dr Watson. You can take pictures throughout the museum and you are able to touch the exhibits, so my son loved the putting on the old trumpet pipe and hat and sitting in the beautiful shabby little Victorian parlour with the violin in full view, there is Dr Watsons bowler hat and medical bag you can try out. My son posed for a picture sitting at Sherlock's desk with a magnifying glass. There are staff around the museum to help and guide you and answer any question, they are also dressed in period Victorian clothing and they are happy for you to have you picture taken with them, then on the top floor there are wax displays of scenes from Sherlock Holmes, which if you haven't seen the films then there is a good chance you won't get the interest from them even though they are all labelled. There is also a waxwork of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writing his famous books from which the films are taken.

My son is good with museums and has just began an interest in Sherlock Holmes since the new series `Sherlock` has began, so he loved this little place but I don't think this museum would interest many kids.

Another problem was the fact this museum is a listed building and therefore access is limited. The staff did allow us to leave the pushchair behind the ticket desk, but if you rely on a wheelchair this museum in my opinion is not for you. Also there are lots of steps which could cause problem for people with mobility problems. Even the toilet which is down in the basement and accessed through the shop has no access except steps. The toilet has no baby changing facilities, but the toilets were also period which I found quite comical.

The stairs are very narrow and the room are fairly small and when the museum is busy I can imagine it is difficult to get the best out of the museum and to be able to try out all the hands on props and exhibits, which would be a great shame.

Overall the museum is lovely if you like Sherlock Holmes or even Victoriana, this museum transports you back to the 1870s.

I would say you can do this whole museum in an hour and half, two hours at the very most, so if you're planning a visit its worth taking this into consideration.

There are plenty of eateries just a few minutes' walk up the street; there is a Pizza hut, a subway a Costa coffee to name a few. There is also Regents Park almost directly opposite if you choose to have a picnic.

The nearest underground station is Baker Street, which is on the Hammersmith and city, Circle, Metropolitan, Jubilee and Bakerloo lines

If you are familiar with books and films, I will have no need to give you the address, as you will already know it. However just to be sure the address is;


221b Baker Street London NW1 6XE England.



If you love Sherlock give it ago!



Review summary for the review "Like going back in time."
Lovely quaint museum that will be perfect for any Sherlock Holmes fan. Set in a Victorian listed building you will be sure to love the authenticity of the place. The mobility access to the museum is not good and there is no wheelchair access.