The Natural History Museum, Tring

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by Claire Chambers (subscribe)

Applied Linguistics graduate and freelance writer. Visit my twitter: @heyclairemarie

Published May 12th 2014

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Pay a trip this weekend to the Natural History museum. No, no that Natural History Museum, the one in Tring.

If you're willing to escape the city for a few hours, then this attraction is a treat. It was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild and is located in the grounds of the former Rothschild family home in Tring Park. The building was initially built to house the baron's mounted specimens in 1889 and was first opened to the public in 1882. It was given to the nation along with its contents in 1937 by the Rothschild family. Originally known as the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, however it changed its name to the Natural History Museum in 2007.

We visited during the Easter holidays and found the museum packed full of children. However there is plenty for adults to enjoy as well. Entry to the museum is free, which is a bargain when you realise how much it holds. At some points there is so much to exhibit that it seems as if the display cases are full to capacity. The museum houses six galleries which contains different sets of animals. We started by looking at the bears, were wowed by the big cats and fascinated by the monkeys. The museum also held representations of probably my favourite things to find in a museum- dodos! Wherever I go, I do like looking at extinct animals as they fascinate me. I was pretty much satisfied by this point.

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But there was still more to see. The second floor played host to an array of camels, giraffes and sloths. Unlike the one at the Horniman Museum, this walrus was stuffed correctly. Upstairs was quite narrow around the balcony area, so there wasn't much room to see the displays.

The museum also showcases oddities such as hybrids. As well as this, there is a dogs display, relocated from the London Natural History Museum. This display shows how domestic dogs have changed shape due to selective breeding and includes famous racing greyhounds.

The Natural History Museum in Tring is a recommended day out for people of all ages. It is free and packed to the rafters with things to see.