Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Manchester Sq., W1.
&
020/7563-9500.
www.the-wallace-collection.org.uk. Free admission (some
exhibits charge). Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun noon-5pm. Tube: Bond St. or Baker St.
Wellcome Collection
MUSEUM The capital's finest museum of medicine
was born out of the personal compulsion of Sir Henry Wellcome, a renowned 19th-
century pharmacist and collector of historical medical artifacts from around the world.
It's divided into two sections. The first, “Medicine Man,” comprises Henry's original
collection, and is wonderfully strange, an extraordinary assortment of medical oddities,
including Ancient Egyptian canopic jars, Roman phallic amulets, South American mum-
mies, a medieval leper clapper, and “secondhand” guillotine blades, as well as a number
of “celebrity” items, such as Napoleon's toothbrush, Nelson's razor blade, and Darwin's
walking stick. The second section, “Medicine Now” is slightly less bonkers, but no less
interesting, focusing on modern medical trends and developments, with plenty of hi-tech
stuff on genomes, vaccines, nanotechnology, and the like. Free tours of the museum are
given on Saturdays (11:30am and 2:30pm) and Sundays (2:30pm).
183 Euston Rd., NW1.
&
020/7611-2222.
www.wellcomecollection.org. Free admission. Tues-Wed and
Fri-Sat 10am-6pm; Thurs 10am-10pm; Sun 11am-6pm. Tube: Euston Sq., Euston, or Warren St.
West London
Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens
PARK Once a favorite deer-
hunting ground of Henry VIII, Hyde Park is central London's largest park. With the
adjoining Kensington Gardens it forms a single giant open space, made up of 246
hectares (608 acres) of velvety lawns interspersed with ponds, flowerbeds, and trees.
The two parks are divided by a 17-hectare (42-acre) lake known as the
Serpentine.
Paddleboats and rowboats can be rented from the
boathouse
(open Mar-Oct) on
the north side (
&
020/7262-1330
) costing £9 per hour for adults, £3 per hour for
children. Part of the Serpentine has also been set aside for use as a
lido,
where you
can swim, provided you don't mind the often rather challenging water temperature.
Near the Serpentine bridge is the
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain,
the
somewhat (perhaps appropriately) troubled monument to the late princess. When
first opened in 2004, its slippery granite surfaces proved singularly unsuited for some-
thing intended as a swimming and paddling venue, leading to its almost instant clo-
sure. It was later reopened, but you're no longer allowed to swim, although you can
put your hands and feet into the fountain.
At the northeastern tip of Hyde Park, near Marble Arch, is
Speakers' Corner,
where people have the right to speak (and more often shout) about any subject that
takes their fancy. In the past you might have heard Karl Marx, Lenin, or George
Orwell trying to convert the masses; today's speakers tend to be less well known, if
no less fervent, and heckling is all part of the fun.
Blending with Hyde Park to the west of the Serpentine, and bordering the grounds
of Kensington Palace (see below), are the well-manicured
Kensington Gardens.
They contain numerous attractions including the
Serpentine Gallery
(p. 96), a
famous statue of
Peter Pan
erected by J. M. Barrie himself (secretly, in the middle
of the night), and the
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground,
a pirate-
themed fun area that has proved a more successful tribute to the late Princess of
Wales than Hyde Park's fountain. At the park's southern edge is the
Albert Memo-
rial,
a gloriously over-the-top, gilded monument erected by Queen Victoria in honor
of her late husband.
Hyde Park, W2.
&
020/7298-2100.
www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park. Free admission. Open
24 hours. Tube: Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, or Lancaster Gate.
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