“It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London.”—Sherlock Holmes， The Red-Headed League1

London is the tour capital of the world. Walking tours can be found devoted to everything from Dickensian pubs to Royal Wedding sites， from Jack the Ripper to Harry Potter.2 This time， I went in search of the elusive Sherlock Holmes.

As I walked out of the poorly lit and somewhat humid tube station into the uncharacteristic London sunshine， it occurred to me that this Sherlock Holmes walking tour wasnt within walking distance of Baker Street.3 Not even close.

I searched my purse to find the brochure to see if I was in the right place when I heard， “Sherlock Holmes tour. Follow in the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes.” Curious， I signed up， and I was not to be disappointed. Here is a rundown4 of my favorite stops：

No.4 Charing Cross Station5 and the Charing Cross Hotel

Charing Cross station with its beautifully made Eleanor Cross serves as a hub for Sherlock and Watsons travels in and out of London in many of the stories.6 It is also the station Irene Adler leaves from in A Scandal in Bohemia.7 In The Adventure of the BrucePartington Plans， Holmes has a spy arrested right in front of the Charing Cross Hotel.

No. 3 The former home of The Strand Magazine

When A Scandal in Bohemia appeared in The Strand， after Arthur Conan Doyle had already published two Holmes novels—A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four—elsewhere， the magazines circulation8 increased. As more Holmes stories were published， both Conan Doyles and The Strands readership and reputation grew rapidly. At one point， fans even lined up outside The Strands offices waiting for the next Holmes installment to be released.9

No. 2 The Lyceum Theater10 where Holmes and Watson go with Miss Morstan to meet the unknown letter writer， “at the third pillar from the left” in The Sign of the Four.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyles friend， Bram Stoker， later the creator of Dracula， worked at this theater as a manager.11 I imagined the creators of these two icons as they talked about their writing， and then learned that Peter Pans creator， J.M. Barrie also knew Conan Doyle and that they wrote an unsuccessful opera together.12 Peter Pan， Dracula and Sherlock Holmes…now that would make an interesting dinner party.

The Lyceum was also where Holmes made his stage debut. You can listen to the tour guide for London Walks， called Richard IV， talk about the only Sherlock Holmes play that Conan Doyle ever wrote， The Speckled Band.

No. 1 The final stop of the tour was the Sherlock Holmes pub on Northumberland Street near Charing Cross Station.

The pub served as the model for Sir Henry Baskervilles hotel in a production of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

This is where the tour officially ends， but the fun doesnt stop. Grab a pint of Sherlock Holmes Ale and head upstairs to visit the replica of Holmess sitting room， filled with artifacts donated by the Conan Doyle family.13 Youll also find the stuffed and mounted head of the Hound of Baskervilles himself.14

So what was missing from the tour？ 221B Baker Street， now the home of The Sherlock Holmes Museum.

As many avid15 Sherlock fans know， 221B Baker Street didnt exist in the Victorian era， Baker Street stopped at #85. Conan Doyle created the address especially for Holmes and Watson. Many years later when Baker Street was extended， the address came into existence， and thats where I was bound16 next.

A man dressed as a British policeman of the period greeted us at the door of the museum， took our tickets， and sent us up the seventeen wooden steps.

The first room is a replica of Sherlocks study including his deerstalker cap， violin and chemistry supplies. The bullet holes where Sherlock shot into the wall out of boredom are still there. You can pose for pictures in the chairs where Sherlock and Watson would have discussed their cases.

One flight up， you can see the respective bedrooms of Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson. Dr. Watsons room features his notes from The Hound of the Baskervilles， as well as handcuffs， revolvers and artifacts from their cases.

Best of all， anyone who sends a letter to Mr. Holmes at the proper address receives a reply. So if youd like Sherlock to help find your missing keys， write to him at 221B Baker Street， London， NW1 6XE. S

1. The Red-Headed League： 《紅發(fā)會(huì)》，講的是福爾摩斯揭穿一伙犯罪團(tuán)體企圖挖地洞盜銀行的陰謀，并最終將他們逮捕歸案的故事。其中，福爾摩斯對(duì)倫敦街區(qū)的精確了解幫助他更快地猜測(cè)到了歹徒們的意圖。

2. Dickensian pubs： 模仿查爾斯·狄更斯作品中的小酒館風(fēng)格的小酒館；Jack the Ripper： 開(kāi)膛手杰克，是歐美歷史上最?lèi)好颜玫臍⑹种弧?888年他在倫敦東區(qū)的白教堂一帶以殘忍的手法連續(xù)殺害了至少五名妓女，卻始終未落入法網(wǎng)，在當(dāng)時(shí)引起了英國(guó)社會(huì)的恐慌。

3. tube station： 〈英〉地鐵。美式英語(yǔ)的說(shuō)法是subway；uncharacteristic：不典型的。因?yàn)閭惗爻３浡睗竦撵F氣，晴朗的天氣實(shí)在難得，因此作者才詼諧地說(shuō)倫敦陽(yáng)光普照是不典型、不常有的天氣。

4. rundown： （某個(gè)想法、情況等的）簡(jiǎn)要報(bào)告，扼要說(shuō)明。

5. Charing Cross Station： 查令十字車(chē)站，是倫敦重要的交通樞紐。

6. Eleanor Cross： 埃莉諾十字架。英格蘭王后埃莉諾在游玩時(shí)香殞威爾士，國(guó)王愛(ài)德華一世悲痛不已，他將王后的遺體運(yùn)回倫敦的一路上，每經(jīng)一個(gè)驛站他都豎立起一座十字架。歲月流逝，當(dāng)年的12座十字架保留至今的只有三座。查令十字車(chē)站附近的埃莉諾十字架僅是一件仿制品；hub： 樞紐，中心。

7. Irene Adler： 艾琳·艾德勒；A Scandal in Bohemia： 《波希米亞丑聞》。艾琳·艾德勒是出現(xiàn)在《波希米亞丑聞》中虛構(gòu)的小說(shuō)人物，她是唯一一個(gè)曾經(jīng)打敗過(guò)福爾摩斯的女人?，F(xiàn)代改編影視作品中對(duì)她和福爾摩斯之間的關(guān)系有各種不同的解讀。

8. circulation： （報(bào)紙或雜志的）發(fā)行量，銷(xiāo)售量。

9. at one point： 一度，（事情發(fā)展到某一）階段；installment： （尤指刊登在報(bào)刊上的連載故事的）一期。

10. The Lyceum Theater： 倫敦學(xué)園劇場(chǎng)。

11. Bram Stoker： 布拉姆·斯托克；Dracula： 《德古拉》，是布拉姆·斯托克于1897年出版的以吸血鬼為題材的哥特式恐怖小說(shuō)。作者一改吸血鬼傳統(tǒng)的可怕形象，將其描繪成文質(zhì)彬彬、聰明、極具魅力，能夠控制受害人思想的紳士。這本小說(shuō)的成功和流行使德古拉成為了吸血鬼的代名詞。

12. J. M. Barrie： 詹姆斯·馬修·巴利；Peter Pan： 《小飛俠彼得潘》，是巴利最為出名的劇作，講的是一個(gè)會(huì)飛的，拒絕長(zhǎng)大的頑皮男孩彼得潘在永無(wú)島（Neverland）與溫迪以及她的弟弟們所遭遇到的各種歷險(xiǎn)故事。福爾摩斯、德古拉和彼得潘都是英國(guó)文學(xué)中的經(jīng)典文學(xué)形象。

13. pint： 品脫，容量單位，主要在英美兩國(guó)使用。一品脫大致相當(dāng)于568毫升；ale： 麥芽啤酒；replica： 仿制品，復(fù)制品。

14. stuffed： 填滿(mǎn)（羽毛或其他材料）的；mounted：裱貼的。

15. avid： 熱衷的，勁頭十足的。

16. bound （ for） ： 前往某處。