Drummerboy’s review of Household Cavalry Museum in London

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The Household Cavalry Museum has got to be the smallest museum I have ever been too in my entire life. It's just three rooms big, plus a window that looks out onto the stables, and that's it. For six quid I thought it was bit of a con because the best bit is outside -- where all the tourists queue up to take a photo of the guards on parade. They've got some mounted ones on the Whitehall side, and a couple of standing ones underneath the arches. The ones I saw today must have been about 12 years old, and I'm not even joking. His sword was longer than his legs! I know they say that policemen get younger as the years tick by, but these were just little kids struggling to stand up underneath the heavy helmet. The little japanese girls all giggling for a photo even tried to pat the poor fella's head which must have been embarassing as hell for him. And he just had to stand there and take it too, in total silence. He's not even allowed to move, ha ha. I'm sure he must have been tempted to slip out his knife and hack them back, but he showed remarkable restraint. What's the point of giving him all those weapons if he can't test them out on the tourists?

The main entrance is not actually on the Whitehall side... you have to go underneath the arches to the Horse Guards parade ground. It's a bit weird, but once you go through the front door you realise that the whole thing is built inside some working stables. So the fine buildings that line Horse Guards are home to the PM on the right, MPs on the left, and a load of horses in the middle. They let you look through a window into the real-life stables too, so you can see the soldiers mucking them out.
The exhibition is alright if you like old military stuff. They've got a lot of modern-day uniforms and ones that go all the way back to Waterloo. There's bazillions of silver swords, medals, trumpets and buttons too. There are a few videos to watch which explain the Household Cavalry's role in all the pomp and pageantry that goes on, and one cabinet explains in great detail what equipment they have to use to shine their shoes. If that sounds exciting to you, then give it a go.