Having been brought up in Bedford, the notion of pilgrimage is taught to you from an early age because John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress is probably the most famous person associated with the town. However, my pilgrimage this weekend is probably to a place that Bunyan, if he had been alive 200 years later than his date of death, as a biblical literalist would have found anathemous. I am of course referring to Down House, the home of Charles Darwin, which was the site of my pilgrimage yesterday with surprisingly uncomplaining kids in tow.

Down House is rather confusingly located in Downe and is a medium sized country residence with about an acre of land associated with it. The display upstairs gives a potted history of Darwin, the Beagle Voyage and the writing of Origin of Species. The place was packed, an effect I believe of the current showing on BBC of Darwin’s Dangerous Idea rather than intrinsic Darwin interest. But that is not a bad thing. The house is now run by the government quango English Heritage, who don’t do too bad a job. However, the gift shop book store had two creationist apologist books for sale alongside most of Darwin’s work. There was also a science for kids display going on with usual stuff such as beetroot juice indicator paper. Unfortunately the description as to how lemon batteries work was wrong but I bit my tongue and remained silent.

I had not fully taken in how comfortably off Darwin had been with the wealth of the Wedgwood’s funding his life of science. A very different background to that of Wallace. This does not detract from his synthesis of observation into the Origin of Species.

I am ashamed to admit that I have only now started to read that most influential of books.