London (continued)
The previous day was all walking which is not the most effective way of getting around the big city like London. I considered two options: public transport and hop-on & off sightseeing buses intended for tourists. The tube and city buses looked more expensive and time consuming.
Out of several hop on/off buses, the Big Bus suited me best. They offered several types of tickets valid from 1 to 3 days. Their bus stop was almost next to the hotel entrance. So in the morning, I walked to that stop and bought from an agent a 2-day ticket that also included a river cruise and the Tower of London.
My first attraction of the day was going to be the Sherlock Holmes museum. The Big Bus stopped not far from the museum. It was Sunday, despite the traffic still disrupted by the marathon and protests I got to the museum with no issues. The problem was with the rain that prevented from sitting on the top deck of the double-decker. The audio recording was very informative. There was also a tour guide on the bus to answer questions.
The museum was opened in 1990, about 100 years after Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson “lived” at this address. Moreover, at the time when Conan Doyle wrote his stories about the famous detective the house number 221b on Baker Street did not even exist.
The museum is privately owned. Someone took it upon themselves to purchase an old Georgian townhouse built in 1815 that was used a boarding home and therefore was typical for the period from 1881 to 1904 when these characters “occupied” first and second floors.
The museum rooms are small and the number of visitors is limited. I waited in line over one hour to get inside. Everything is decorated with authentic objects from the Victorian era.
The museum receives lots of letters. Once a month, they pick up at the post office a heavy bag with mail. The staff answers as many letters as possible. For example, this letter below is from a boy who lost a watch that was the family heirloom since World War I. The boy begs “Dear Mr. Holmes Esq.” to find his watch.
After seeing the museum and a good lunch, I turned to a much older attraction, the Tower of London.