Down House (Home of Charles Darwin)
Charles Darwin's family home for four decades in the village of Downe, in the London Borough of Bromley, with his study, gardens and the Sandwalk where he paced out his thoughts.
- Museum
- Price: ££ · Mid-range
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Did you know
Darwin spent 16 years experimenting with carnivorous plants at Down House, feeding sundews and others proteins such as roast beef and boiled egg, and the work led to his 1875 book Insectivorous Plants.
Local tip
Opening days and hours change with the season and narrow in winter, so check the English Heritage website before you go. It is a long way from any tube station, so plan your transport in advance.
Finding it
- Address
- Luxted Road, Downe, Orpington BR6 7JT
Details change, so check with the place before you set off.
More places in London
- Bethlem Museum of the MindA free museum in the grounds of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, telling the story of an institution founded in 1247 and showing art by former patients including Richard Dadd and Louis Wain.
- Chislehurst CavesA maze of man-made chalk and flint mine tunnels beneath Chislehurst that you explore on a lamp-lit guided tour. They sheltered thousands during the Blitz and later hosted 1960s gigs.
- Beckenham Place ParkLewisham's largest green space, 96 hectares of woodland and meadow around a Palladian mansion that is now a cafe and community centre.
- Museum of CroydonA free museum in the Croydon Clocktower that mixes local history with the Riesco collection of Chinese ceramics and changing exhibitions, in the same building as the David Lean Cinema.