The Grant museum of zoology and comparative anatomy, founded in 1828 by Robert Edmond Grant, the Scottish teacher of Charles Darwin and professor at London’s university college from 1827 until 1874, is an intimate alternative to the capital’s more famous natural history museum. There are no giant dinosaurs here or great blue whales. Instead, the ambience is quaintly reminiscent of old fashioned museums, such as the one we explored in Dublin on zoology.

The research, however, is state of the art. There are videos of how sniffer dogs can detect cancer in humans and an exhibition on ordinary animals and how cats and dogs can modify human behaviour and vice versa.

The collection is superb, sometimes frightening as in the skeleton of a giant anaconda and sometimes sad as with the Australian thylacine stuffed, Damien Hurst like, in formaldehyde. It’s shocking to know that this dog-like marsupial was still around as late as the 1930’s before it became extinct. How must it have felt to be the last of the species? And in our case? But I anticipate….

Ps. What a great place to hold a Halloween party. And there will be one there soon!