The Sherlock Holmes is a theme pub, and you don’t need to be a detective to deduce what theme (the clue is in the name). Whilst many such places are a tacky waste of time, this one is quite authentic. Originally The Northumberland Arms, the owners Whitbread purchased an entire Sherlock Holmes exhibition from the Festival of Britain, and in 1957 renamed this pub after Conan Doyle’s celebrated detective. It is the first and largest display dedicated to this subject, a genuine Sherlock Holmes museum. The display by the first floor restaurant is of Holmes’ study, the red mark on the forehead of Holmes’ statue representing the bullet wound inflicted by Colonel Sebastian Moran in The Adventure of the Empty House.