SOLO TRIP to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum

I was sitting alone in the Victoria and Albert Museum cafe, starting to feel embarrassed about being there by myself, when I noticed five other people doing exactly the same thing. Different ages, different people, all just having a nice time. That helped more than telling myself I shouldn’t feel awkward.

I’d visited the V&A once before, on a London holiday when I was about 19, but my memory of the place was fairly vague. Returning in 2024, after eight years living in England, I wanted to get better at doing things on my own. Being an expat doesn’t magically make me a confident traveller. I’d slept badly and thought my anxiety about the museum day might be why.

Lunch before a plan

I caught the train into London and took the Tube over. Taking the Tube feels ordinary to me now, which is a strange thing to think about as a Canadian. My younger self would have been amazed that I could pop over to a London museum as part of a regular day. Living here hasn’t always been easy, but I was grateful that I was still able to have these experiences.

The museum was big, and I hadn’t arrived with a game plan. By the time I’d got inside, I was hungry and needed the toilet, so the first collection I explored was largely whatever happened to be on the way to the cafe. Very sophisticated. I could feel hangry approaching.

Lunch was a quiche with two sides and cost £14 on that visit. I know that might make people scream, but it was a big portion and tasted like someone had actually cooked it. After the depressing sandwich I’d eaten on my previous Imperial War Museum outing, this felt like a fancy treat, in a very pretty dining room.

While I ate, the map gave me an idea. As memories of my first visit came back, I had a feeling I’d only explored the ground floor before getting overwhelmed. This time I’d concentrate on the upper floors. I passed through South Asia, with a quick look at the fashion displays near the stairs, then headed up to things I didn’t remember seeing.

Locks, ironwork and a very large screen

The ironwork gallery was a surprise. It wasn’t the sort of thing I expected from a history museum, but there were boxes, locks and metal pieces that kept me interested. I looked at English door locks labelled as seventeenth century and German examples with a different style. Imagine having one of those on your door.

A French balcony caught my eye because it had dogs on it. I loved it. The upper walkway also let me look down at the ground-floor displays, including an enormous carpet I remembered from the earlier visit. I couldn’t always tell what an object was from above, but I enjoyed getting that different view of the building.

Then I came across the Hereford Screen, which was so large I couldn’t get all of it into the camera frame, even standing as far back as I could. It was sitting in a hallway overlooking one of the entrances. Between the objects and the architecture, there was a lot to look at before I’d covered much distance.

The Cast Courts puzzled me briefly until I saw David and remembered seeing him in Florence. These were replicas. I thought it was cool that people could see casts when they couldn’t see the originals, although they didn’t excite me quite as much for that reason. I still enjoyed looking down into those huge rooms.

I don’t wear rings, but I wanted to look at all of them

The jewellery galleries were something I’d missed entirely on my first visit. I’m not particularly a jewellery person, but the detail and history were fascinating. The displays ran through different time periods into modern pieces, and I gravitated towards the oldest objects. There were watches, necklaces, brooches, cigarette cases and tiny pieces with far more detail than seemed reasonable at that size.

I loved the circular display of rings, even though I don’t wear them. The stained glass further on was another good stop because the pieces were backlit, so you could actually see their colours. By the silver and crystal, though, I was starting to get overwhelmed. Reading so many labels and trying to take in lots of small objects was tiring, even in galleries that were almost empty on that Thursday afternoon.

Eventually I headed back downstairs, tired and overstimulated but very happy with the visit. There was still loads I hadn’t seen, including most of the ground floor, and I didn’t want to overdo it. I recommended the museum when I came out, then faced the long journey home. I could use a drink first, though.

Watch a solo V&A visit, upstairs with locks and jewellery on YouTube.