Discovering the delights of the London Film Museum...

Imagine my delight on a recent trip back to the U.K. when I discovered the cinematic treasure trove that is the London Film Museum.

Whether you're a tourist or a local, if you're a movie fan and enjoy seeing original costumes, props and vehicles on display you'll love this amazing place in County Hall, near Westminster Bridge and the London Eye.

Not only do they have some fantastic permanent displays, but they also have some temporary visiting exhibitions, like original costumes from Batman Begins and Superman Returns on loan from Warner Bros. Studios.

Brandon Routh's Superman Returns costume

Plus when I visited on January 25, 2011 they had a wonderful Myths & Legends exhibit featuring the work of stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen, from films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts.

Christian Bale's Bat-Suit from Batman Begins

Apparently I recently missed an Aliens movie exhibition, but they still have amazing first edition replicas of the original alien and the Alien Queen from the sequel on display for you to see up close.

Alien Queen from James Cameron's Aliens

They really do have movie memorabilia from all genres, from horror to sci-fi, espionage to family films, plus other infamous items like this gong featured before all the movies of the British entertainment company, Rank Organisation.

Rank Gong on display at the London Film Museum

In fact there's something inherently

British a

bout the museum, with lots of items from

British

produced movies (like

Zulu, 007, Mr. Bean, Excalibur and Dr. Who & The Daleks

to name but a few), as well as those originating in

Hollywoodland

.

Original costume armour from Excalibur

designed by Terry English

Dinosaur prop from Night at the Museum 2

In addition to props and costumes there are also some impressive movie vehicles like the autogyro used in Sean Connery's 'James Bond' movie, You Only Live Twice, plus a TARDIS and a Thunderbird 4 sub

mersible from the 2004 live-action Thunderbirds movie.

007's Little Nellie autogyro from You Only Live Twice

The London Film Museum really is a great way to spend a few hours and is open seven days a week. It's also expanding to open another venue in the Covent Garden area, so keep you eyes peeled for details of that in 2011.

In the meantime, if you do get a chance to pop along to this museum you won't be disappointed, as it's always fun to see authentic movie costumes and props in person up close.