Of quirky museums and more

The London Canal Museum; Source: Wikipedia

Off-beat, quirky, not to mention eccentric; where else but in London would you find museums dedicated to just about anything?

Museums may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to appreciate the fact that London plays host to an array of them, no matter what the subject or how odd.

From a canal museum, to one on tennis, just name it and it’s here.

“It’s fascinating,” says student Seby Fernandes, speaking of his amazement at discovering that London has a museum for literally everything.

“I’ve been in London for a year, and take every opportunity to visit the most eccentric museums I can find. My all time favourites are the Horniman and the Jewish museums,” he adds.

Talk about odd!

Fancy discovering a museum that features only stationery. Well, the Smythson Stationery Museum on Bond Street does just that.

mindZgap ventured deeper, and found that the quaint little museum actually doubles as one of London’s oldest stationery shops.

Entry is free and it’s packed with wartime memorabilia like telegrams, old engraved dye stamps and stationery from the colonial days back in India.

There’s also the Museum of Childhood, a couple of minutes walk from Bethnal Green tube station.

As the name suggests, you can find just about anything related to when you were a child here.

From exquisite dolls houses (the largest collection in Britain, mind you!), to Victorian-style clothes and toys galore, the displays make for the perfect trip down memory lane.

For more of an ‘artsy’ theme, then why not visit the first and only museum in the world (that’s what the museum claims!), devoted entirely to every aspect of fans and fan making.

More than 3,500 fans from around the world, predominantly antiques dating back to the 11th century constitute the collections on display.

If bizarre is what you’re after, the Museum of Freemasonry should do the trick. With an extensive collection of Masonic engravings, photographs, pottery, and items that belonged to Winston Churchill, you won’t be disappointed.

For more information on quirky museums that might take your fancy, check-out www.britainexpress.com or www.talkingcities.co.uk