Cool Place of the Day: Natural History Museum at Tring, Hertfordshire

It’s possible that Back-to-School week has awakened our nerdier instincts, but we love this little-known Hertfordshire outpost of the Natural History Museum in Tring. How much you agree will depend largely on how much you like stuffed animals, but if you do, you'll be in heaven: Tring houses one of the world's finest collections, amassed in the 19th century by one Lionel Walter Rothschild and gifted to the nation in 1937.

On arrival you're greeted by a wryly smiling polar bear, and from there the taxidermy extends to emperor penguins, mandrills, gorillas, tiger sharks and a great many zebras – of which Rothschild was apparently particularly fond. In fact, he even trained a group of zebras to pull his carriage. Spread over six galleries in a wonderful gabled Victorian mansion, it's not just big beasts either: there are cabinets of butterflies and creepy-crawlies, fleas dressed up as Mexican dancers (don't ask), extinct species including the South African quagga – and a rather eerie collection of domestic dogs.

There's also a globally important bird collection, and the office-like Rothschild room, which gives a good sense of the banker-zoologist's working methods. Entry to the museum is free, making it a hugely popular weekend family excursion. There's a hands-on discovery centre, Zebra café and well-stocked shop too.

Cool Places is a website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)