A Lockdown Guide To London’s Museums

Ice Skating

As our Lockdown numerals rack up, like some dystopian Superbowl, the idea of strolling around a London museum lingers in the past like a distant memory or hovers in the future as some shimmering mirage to stumble towards. However much we console ourselves with the divested costumes of Bridgerton, the millstone milestone of our hundredth sourdough loaf, or the genius of Joe Root sweeping spin-bowlers, it is impossible not to miss the warm glow of a familiar exhibition, the tingling shock of a new show or the mindful meditation of strolling among glass-cased menageries.

What virtual London exhibitions can I visit?

As the pandemic keeps us isolated from the real thing, it is some consolation that London’s famous museums are offering a digital smorgasbord of cultural delights. If the recent snows put a smile on your face, you might enjoy the Climate and Culture of the Arctic (until 21 Feb 2021) at the British Museum, with exhibits including reindeer-skin snow goggles and a beaded-eyed guardian spirit doll of the Evenki people. For those who have found nature the best lockdown remedy for children, the Natural History Museum uses J.K. Rowling’s work as a looking glass through which to observe Earth’s species in a virtual tour of Fantastic Beasts: the wonder of nature with Newt Scamander as your guide. To learn more about why those species are under threat, head for the Science Museum for a series of online Climate Talks. And as a reminder that 2020 was the year not just of pandemic but of #blacklivesmatter, the Museum of London has an online collection of stories from Windrush to dub reggae in London’s Black History. Closer to home, Turner’s House is celebrating our favourite river in a series of talks called Thames Luminaries.

What exhibitions are scheduled at London’s museums in 2021?

Keeping everything crossed that London can soon return to some semblance of normality, there are various delights to look forward to seeing in the flesh. If you’ve survived Lockdown with a diet of Scandy noir and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, you might enjoy the British Museum’s Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint, (22 Apr–22 Aug 2021) telling the tale of an infamous medieval crime on its 850th anniversary. For those seeking to escape their rabbit-hole for a more fantastical one, the enduring allure of Lewis Carroll is scheduled to be celebrated at the V&A’s Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser (27 Mar–31 Dec 2021), a suitably immersive and magical mystery tour of fashion, photography and art from Tenniel to Steadman.  The London Transport Museum has extended its Hidden London tour of secret tube stations until December 2021, and the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) is due a major relaunch this year.

Make our home your own

At 20TheBarons we know about all things London. We offer a collection of eight individually-styled serviced apartments in the Richmond-upon-Thames area. If you’re relocating, working or playing in London and want accommodation that combines the luxury of a hotel with the comfort of your own home, we’d be happy to discuss your personal requirements.

If you want to want to talk to me, Ali, this is my business and I’m a Londoner who has lived in this area all my life. We have been hosting business travellers and families from around the world for many years. I would love to talk to you about how we can help your stay feel like you’ve not just moved house, but moved home.

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