NOVEMBER 2009
Britain’s top travel journalists have voted Charles Darwin’s home, Down House at Downe, near Orpington, Kent as the best UK Tourism Project for 2009. Members of the British Guild of Travel Writers gave the house – Darwin’s home for 40 years – the accolade for the new exhibition and interpretation which opened at the visitor attraction in February to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth.
“They loved the beautiful way the ground floor is presented, the amazing new displays – especially Charles Darwin’s reconstructed cabin from HMS Beagle – and were very positive about the way we have embraced new technology with video guides, narrated by Sir David Attenborough and journalist and broadcaster Andrew Marr,” said English Heritage Visitor Operations Manager for Down House Richard Smith-Gore, who collected the award at a ceremony at a top London hotel on Sunday night.
The exhibition installed for the anniversary hit headlines when it opened in February and continues to be a real crowd-puller. Tracing his life and work, it features rare original personal objects and manuscripts as well as a full-size reconstruction of the cramped cabin which was his home for five years during his epic adventure on the Beagle. Visitors can tour the house which features his study, still overflowing with his books, scientific instruments and personal items.
The 18-acre estate surrounding the house looks much as it would have done when it served as the scientist’s ‘outdoor laboratory,’ where he tested his theories on evolution. A detailed handheld video tour of the garden allows visitors to discover the gardens at their own pace and find out about some of the experiments Darwin carried out there.
The Home of Charles Darwin © English Heritage
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