West frontage Horniman Museum 13 4 2007

Located on the busy South Circular Road in London, this is a delightful independant museum. It was created by the Horniman tea family initially from their collection of natural history and anthropological items, gathered from across the globe. It has a large musical instrument department, an aquarium and a small zoo. The gardens are beautifully planned and maintained and have an educational section with crops from various climate zones. We lived nearby and it was a wonderful resource for families. Admission to the permanent displays is free, but their regular special exhibitions do have admission charges. I believe that the aquarium is no longer free.
London Overground's Forest Hill station is about 5 minutes away, although it is up a bit of a hill. Buses from central London, Croydon, Camberwell and Lewisham pass the door.