The Natural History Museum, London

At the beginning of this year I decided I was in dire need of a little more culture in my life, so whenever I head into London  now I always try to throw in a visit to one of the renowned museums or galleries dotted about this remarkable city.

Most recently I visited the Natural History Museum on Cromwell Road. I only had a few hours spare but with the help of a  map of the museum I managed to see all of the key attractions, albeit without stopping to smell the roses along the way!

The museum is cleverly divided up into four colour zones (spread across four floors) to help you find what you’re looking for. Unsurprisingly, the children head straight for the dinosaurs (blue zone!), so this tends to be the busy area, but it’s definitely worth a visit. The ‘living’ T-rex is particularly impressive.

I loved the mammals’ gallery, which includes a life-size model of a blue whale (the largest creature in the world) suspended from the ceiling. Other highlights included seeing the dodo bird and taking the escalator up through the prodigious sculpture of the Earth, which felt rather like being in a sci-fi movie!

The celebrated Animal Inside Out exhibition was still on display while I was there but sadly I didn’t have time to visit it. The exhibition is adapted from Gunther von Hagen’s ‘Body Worlds’ and shows the intricate insides of a variety of the world’s creatures. (An admission fee applies.)

I’d certainly recommend a visit  to the Natural History Museum to anyone as it’s a fascinating place and is undoubtedly one of Britain’s best national treasures.

To visit the NHM’s website, click here