F

rom toys to taxidermy, and fashion to Vikings, England has museums for almost any subject. Best of all, though, is that many of them are free.

As you’d expect, London has some real big hitters – the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the British Museum being just a few – but the smaller, off-the-beaten track establishments are worth a visit, too.

In Shoreditch, East London, for example, you’ll find the Geffrye Museum – a row of beautiful old alms houses that have been decorated to reflect England’s changing interior design trends, from Elizabethan times to the 1950s. And just down the road in Bethnal Green you’ll find the V&A’s Museum of Childhood , which has a rather cool selection of children’s toys (don’t miss the giant dolls’ houses).

Meanwhile, Jane Austen addicts should take a pilgrimage to the ever-so-elegant townhouse in Bath where the writer lived; and why not pop into the Museum of Costume, too, which is nearby.

Maybe Roald Dahl's more your bag, though? In which case you’ll love the museum that’s dedicated to his life and writing, in Buckinghamshire. Or for something slightly different try Tring’s Natural History Museum , which houses the vast taxidermy collection horded by eccentric Edwardian, Walter Rothschild. Not the kind of place you’d want to be left alone in overnight…

And did you know that England’s smallest county, rutland, once was home to its very own Fencible Cavalry? These days the building is home to a charming Rutland County Museum which tells the tale of Rutland through the years.

The weekend of 18-20 May 2012 sees the return of the popular Museums at Night. Across England, museums, galleries and historic properties will be staying open until the small hours. You'll be able to experience these venues in a very different way, with a range of innovative night-time events taking place.