England, Home of Holmes - Sherlock, That Is

Clever title, yes?

So aside from tea and biscuits, when you think England you might think Sherlock Holmes. After all, that's where the famed detective is from and where his stories were first published in The Strand magazine. If you're a lover of Sherlock Holmes in any of his forms - short stories, movies, theater, television - there is lots for you to discover in England.

First of all, is there a 221B Baker Street? Yes, and no. On Baker Street you will find a Sherlock Holmes Museum with a plaque displaying that they are 221B Baker Street, but technically they are located between 237 and 241 Baker Street. But if you don't tell anyone, no one will know the difference.

So the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B/237-241 Baker Street has been converted into Sherlock Holmes' imagined residence. (Just a reminder to all that Sherlock Holmes was not a real person - it seems to be an issue that people get confused) On a self guided tour you'll walk through three floors encompassing the sitting room, laboratory, bathroom, study, and bedrooms of the beloved characters of Holmes and Dr. Watson. The rooms are beautifully decorated to reflect a Georgian townhouse between the years of 1881 and 1904 (the years Holmes and Watson would have lived there) and follow descriptions of the home from Doyle's stories.

The Study in the Museum

Throughout the house are nods to many of the stories of Sherlock Holmes (hand written notes on cases such as the Hounds of Baskerville) as well as personal belongings of the two residents. In the sitting room you can have a seat by the fireplace or at the dining table for some photo ops.

The gift shop next door is the world's largest and you'll find gifts related to the original Holmes' stories all the way up to books and posters plastered with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (NOT a bad thing!).

Tickets are 15 pounds (about 22.50 USD) and yes I agree that is expensive. You'll probably only be in the museum for around 30 minutes. The house is quite small so small groups of people are let in at a time, which can result in a fairly long wait. Our wait was around 30 or 40 minutes. Most importantly...You must get your ticket from the gift shop BEFORE you get in line to enter the house.

Sherlock Holmes Pub

Once you've visited Sherlock's house at 221B, you'll probably be getting a bit hungry. So head over to 10 Northumberland Street to the Sherlock Holmes Pub. The bottom floor is a typical pub, but a sit down restaurant upstairs makes you feel like you're dining in Sherlock's house (or at least in a room decorated by the same decorator...Mrs. Hudson?). The walls are covered with Sherlock photos and a small room off to the side is set up as Sherlock's laboratory.

The food was good, prices were average...and I refuse to believe that the Sherlock drawing on their menus hasn't been updated in the wake of the BBC's Sherlock to look like Benedict Cumberbatch.

Speedy's Cafe and 221B

Lastly, for you lovers of BBC's Sherlock, you can't miss out on some filming locations. If you head over to 187 N Gower Street you'll find the film location for 221B and Speedy's Cafe. When filming isn't occurring the door, unfortunately, doesn't say 221B. And someone does live there, so be nice. But you can still grab a pastry or breakfast from Speedy's and sit right outside Benedict's...Sherlock's...door. There are some cool pictures of the actors inside the Cafe as well.

St. Bart's - Sherlock's Fall

You've seen where he lives, you can see where he "dies." If you take the 56 bus it'll drop you off nearly at the point where Benedict Cumberbatch hits the pavement after jumping off the roof of St. Bart's in the Series 2 finale. I mean, get off the bus, walk left for about twenty feet and heads up.

You'll see the Ambulance Bay that blocked John's view to your left and you can imagine the whole scene playing out. There's also a phone booth there covered in funny comments and drawings related to Sherlock Holmes and his supposed demise. Funny reading.

So have fun walking in Sherlock's footsteps...

The game is on.