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London’s Natural History Museum: From the Outside

It was a beautifully sunny Sunday with vibrant blue skies.

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I popped into Paul for my daily English breakfast tea with a splash of milk and splurged on an apricot and custard pastry in celebration of the Winter sun.

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Camera and breakfast in hand, I headed toward the Natural History Museum.

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I had no intention of going inside. Not that day. I’ve been before and it’s a fabulous place to explore, but not on the weekend.

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If you haven’t been, I’d recommend it. It’s free too.

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You can spend hours lost inside, and I wanted to enjoy the unusually nice day.

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So I found a spot for people watching, where I could soak up a few rays and enjoy my tea and apricot pastry.

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The Natural History Museum is one of the most architecturally stunning places I’ve seen and I couldn’t resist taking some photos before I continued on my walk.

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There’s an immense amount of detail in the façade.

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There’s gargoyles perched along the front of the building and an incredibly intricate series of columns at the top of the steps to the main entrance.

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Above the columns are arches created the particular style of a Romanesque design.

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There is varied colour in the bricks.

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Even along the edge of the property where it touches the edge of Cromwell Road, attention has been paid to the detail.

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There are animal reliefs in the columns that support the fence and gates.

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The gates are full of curlicues.

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You can’t walk down Cromwell Road without rubber necking to check out this photogenic marvel.

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We were talking a few days ago about how easy it is to take advantage of living in such a massive city, to walk by major icons of London without a second glance; similar to the way I grew up 10 minutes from Niagara Falls, but we only really visited when we had guests.

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I realized then, that I pass this building almost every day yet in the seven years I’ve lived here, I’ve never even taken photographs. So this is my little nod to the architecture of the Natural History Museum, which has long since distracted me from my thoughts on Cromwell Road.

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7 Comments

  • Reply
    Diana Mieczan
    February 19, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    I want to go back:) I’ve been inside with my mom a while ago and indeed, an amazing place and your photos make me dream about a trip to London:) xoxo

    • Reply
      littleobservationist
      February 21, 2014 at 7:14 pm

      Well if you do take a trip to London, make sure you let me know – I’d love a tea and chat!

  • Reply
    Mandy
    February 19, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    Superb photos Steph! I always appreciate this grand structure when I visit but ultimately I’m usually going inside.

  • Reply
    Adrienne McCormick
    February 20, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    The Natural History and V&A next door are two of my favorites as well, Steph. Two years ago, I finally found a way to work the museum into my Literary London program itinerary, when we read The Mara Crossing by Ruth Padel, a wonderful collection of essays and poems on migration–animal as well as cellular and human. A brilliant work!

    • Reply
      littleobservationist
      February 21, 2014 at 7:12 pm

      Oh yes, the V&A is amazing as well. I haven’t read The Mara Crossing. I’ll have to look that one up. Thanks for the recommendation!

  • Reply
    A London Walk: From South Kensington to World’s End - Little Observationist
    July 20, 2016 at 9:43 am

    […] I spent lunch break with a colleague wandering around the Natural History Museum (which I’ve written about before, during the colder winter […]

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