By Deborah Lacy

“It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London.”

—Sherlock Holmes, The Red-Headed League

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. 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 wasn’t within walking distance of Baker Street. 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 rundown of my favorite stops:

No. 4 Charing Cross Station and the Charing Cross Hotel

Charing Cross station with its beautifully made Eleanor Cross serves as a hub for Sherlock and Watson’s travels in and out of London in many of the stories. It is also the station Irene Adler leaves from in A Scandal in Bohemia. In The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington 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 magazine’s circulation increased. As more Holmes stories were published, both Conan Doyle’s and The Strand’s readership and reputation grew rapidly. At one point, fans even lined up outside The Strand’s offices waiting for the next Holmes installment to be released.

No. 2 The Lyceum Theater 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 Doyle’s friend, Bram Stoker, later the creator of Dracula, worked at this theater as a manager. I imagined the creators of these two icons as they talked about their writing, and then learned that Peter Pan’s creator, J.M. Barrie also knew Conan Doyle and that they wrote an unsuccessful opera together. Peter Pan, Dracula and Sherlock Holmes...now that would make an interesting dinner party.

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮）