23 great British museums for classic car fans

All display and no work…

With the UK’s road map out of lockdown seemingly going to plan and ‘staycation’ apparently the word of the moment, the good news is that the country’s museums are opening again, so why not go and grab a slice of automotive nostalgia?

Let’s face it, the weather still has a wintry edge to it so you might as well be inside anyway.

Here, in no particular order, are 23 cracking options that have re-opened their doors recently and are waiting to welcome you.

1. National Motor Museum

Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

Opening hours: daily from 10am-5pm

Take your time to gaze over the collection’s 285 vehicles, the oldest of which dates from 1875.

Look back through the history of motor racing and motorcycling, and relive your youth with the Motoring in Miniature exhibition, which showcases more than 800 toy cars and pedal cars from years gone by.

Then explore The World of Top Gear and On-Screen Cars, or simply have a wander through the Palace House and gardens.

2. Haynes Motor Museum

Sparkford, Somerset BA22 7LH

Opening hours: daily 10am-5.30pm (2 March-25 October); daily 10am-4.30pm (26 October-1 March)

The Haynes collection contains a vast array of vehicles from across the age of motoring, ranging from veteran and vintage cars all the way through to the world of Formula One with the Williams Exhibition.

Take a saunter through the Red Room, which contains, you’ve guessed it, bright red cars from across the globe, enjoy the supercar area and check out the odd custom machine, too.

3. London Transport Museum

Covent Garden Piazza, London WC2E 7BB

Opening hours: daily 10am-6pm

Of course, the London Transport Museum contains vehicles from throughout the capital’s motoring history, from the latest Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme bike to a horse-drawn bus from around 1875. So it’s more ‘transport’ than ‘automotive’, but there is a lot to enjoy nevertheless.

The museum hosts numerous buses and trains, plus carriages from the Underground’s various eras, too. There are also numerous videos and audio recordings of both staff and customers of London’s transport system, as well as a huge range of photographs.

4. Coventry Transport Museum

Millennium Place, Hales Street, Coventry CV1 1JD

Opening hours: daily 10am-5pm

The museum details how Coventry has been instrumental in changing the face of global motoring, and how Coventry has also been changed by the advances in global motoring.

It claims to have the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world, and the vehicles on show range from Thrust SSC to some early bicycles. The museum also hosts numerous travelling exhibitions throughout the year, so there’s always something new to see.

5. British Motor Museum

Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwickshire CV35 0BJ

Opening hours: daily 10am-5pm

Not a million miles from Coventry you’ll find the British Motor Museum, which claims to have the largest collection of historic British cars in the world.

Temporary exhibitions on at the time of writing include a spotlight on the Jaguar E-type in its 60th-anniversary year, plus a celebration of the Austin Metro at 40.

In addition to viewing the enormous collection of cars in the main museum, visitors can also view the Collections Centre, in which reserve vehicles are stored, and where they can see the museum’s mechanics at work.

6. Lakeland Motor Museum

Haverthwaite, Ulverston LA12 8TA

Opening hours: daily 9.30am-4.30pm

The Lakeland Museum has an eclectic selection of cars, all the way from an early Benz, through vintage Fiats and Austins and the oldest-surviving TVR, to various fast Fords, such as a one-owner Ford Capri 2.8i from 1982 and a 1971 Trabant.

There’s also a tribute to the record-breaking Campbell clan, plus a tribute to the racers of the Isle of Man, and in a slowing of the pace, an exhibition of pedal cars and cycles.

7. Brooklands Museum

Brooklands Road, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0SL

Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 10am-5pm

The Brooklands Museum is about so much more than just cars. For a start, the buildings have been restored and recreated as they would have been in the 1940s, and the museum also celebrates the facility’s aircraft heritage as well as its standing in the world of motorsport.

So, check out Concorde, or explore the flight shed. Be amazed by Brooklands’ historic banked track or study the site’s racing legends. There’s even the London Bus Museum to enjoy, too.

8. The Bubble Car Museum

Clover Farm, Boston, Lincolnshire PE22 7AW

Opening hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10am-5pm

Proving that being eco-friendly and enjoying cheap motoring aren’t just fascinations of the modern world, The Bubble Car Museum takes you back through a bygone era when such cars had engines smaller than 700cc and often just the one door.

The museum has 50 exhibits from Bond, Isetta, Reliant, Frisky and Bamby, and costs a grand total of £4 for adults and £1 for children.

9. Milestones Museum

Leisure Park, Churchill Way West, ​​​​​​Basingstoke RG22 6PG

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday 11am-5pm

The Milestones Museum is more than just a motoring museum. Instead, it takes you through streets from decades past and lets you buy sweets in the vintage sweet shop or enjoy an ale in the olde worlde pub before heading to the pier and penny arcade.

Vintage vehicles include those from the Thornycroft Steam Wagon Company, which built vehicles in Basingstoke at the turn of the last century. There are also steam vehicles from Tasker’s of Andover, plus a vintage tram, motorcycles, a fire engine and a classic bus.

10. Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection

The Old Mill, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire GL54 2BY

Opening hours: daily 10am-6pm

Take a couple of hours out of your weekend and enjoy a saunter through the wheeled history of the 20th century, because the collection contains everything from a 1911 Alldays & Onions Traveller Voiturette to a Raleigh Chopper from the ’70s.

You can also have a look into the world of caravanning from back in the day, plus enjoy the extensive collection of vintage motorcycles.

11. Jim Clark Museum

44 Newtown Street, Duns, Scottish Borders TD11 3AU

Opening hours: daily 10am-4.30pm

The Jim Clark Museum offers something completely different. It’s a celebration of a man considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, racing driver ever.

The museum offers a chance to find out what he was really like, and gets you up close and personal with some of his racing machinery.

And after you’ve experienced that, you can download the Jim Clark Trail, and enjoy a drive through some of the world’s most stunning scenery.

12. National Motorcycle Museum

Coventry Road, Bickenhill, Solihull, West Midlands B92 0EJ

Opening hours: daily 8.30am-5.30pm

Did you know that there have been 170 different British motorcycle manufacturers?

This museum plays host to 1000 ’bikes from this wide range of brands, and the collection covers the veteran, vintage and post-war periods, so there’s something for everyone to get excited about.

13. Isle of Man Motor Museum

Jurby, Isle of Man IM7 3BD

Opening hours: Thursday-Sunday 10am-5pm

The Isle of Man Motor Museum is comparatively new, having only been opened in 2015. Nevertheless, it houses a wide range of vehicles, from  buses to fire engines, passing racing ’bikes (obviously) and open-topped Rolls-Royces along the way.

Or how about a steam-powered 1903 Turner-Miesse or a Lotus Carlton? And of course there’s a Citroën DS19 Décapotable (often displayed on a DS23 Tissier transporter). Quite the mixture.

14. Moretonhampstead Motor Museum

The Old Bus Depot, Court St, Moretonhampstead, Devon TQ13 8LG

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11.30am-3.30pm

The museum has an extensive collection of more than 150 vehicles, ranging from bubble cars to classic ’bikes, and from vintage road cars to something the baddies might have used to leg it in The Sweeney.

In addition, there’s a comprehensive collection of motoring artefacts from across the decades.

15. Grampian Transport Museum

Alford, Aberdeenshire AB33 8AE

Opening hours: Thursday-Monday 10am-5pm

According to the Grampian Transport Museum, one of Aberdeen’s claims to fame is that it was home to the world’s first electric car, and there’s an in-depth exhibition around it.

Aside from that, the collection contains a few remarkable vehicles, including a Hillman Imp police car and a Rover SD1 ‘jam sandwich’ that was formerly used by Grampian Police.

And at the time of writing there’s a special exhibition focusing on ’bike racer and daredevil Guy Martin, which covers everything from his very first car, a 1972 Saab 96, to a rare Petronas FP1 motorcycle.

16. Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum

Stockley Lane, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 0NF

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm

The Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum specialises in everything from the 1920s onwards, so there’s a decent chance you might see something your grandfather drove.

The collection was begun with a 1937 Buick Albermarle that remains today, alongside such varied vehicles as a 1934 Alvis Speed 20, a 1938 Daimler EL24 and a 1951 Dennis fire engine.

Or how about the Issigonis Prototype 1970 Mini 9X ‘Gearless’, said to be the great designer’s preferred mode of transport as well as being the oldest-surviving gearless car.

17. Great British Car Journey

Derwent Works, Ambergate, Derbyshire DE56 2HE

Opening hours: daily 10am-6pm (May-October); Thursday-Monday 10am-5pm (November); Friday-Monday 10am-5pm (December)

This isn’t just a museum collection, this brand-new attraction is a walk through the halcyon days when British motoring manufacturers ruled the world.

The journey begins in 1921 with Austin and carries on right up to the present day. And for an extra fee you can even drive one of the classics in the collection, bringing history to life.

18. Silverstone Experience

Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northants NN12 8TN

Opening hours: daily 10am-5pm

The excitement starts right away as you walk through a virtual tunnel and take your place on a virtual grid for the pre-show.

After that, there follows a fully immersive and interactive tour of Silverstone’s history, from its time as an RAF base to its current status as the home of British motorsport. Also, you can explore the technology lab and find out just what goes on during a typical race day.

19. Aston Martin Heritage Trust and Museum

Drayton St Leonard, Nr Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 7BG

Opening hours: Thursday-Sunday 10am-4pm

The collection kicks off with the A3, which is the third of the original Aston Martin prototypes and today is the oldest Aston in existence.

The story continues through cars from the 1950s and ’70s, and even includes one of the five Aston Martin Nimrod racing machines and a DB7 prototype. There’s also loads of racing memorabilia, tools, trophies and scale models.

20. Morgan Experience Centre

Spring Lane, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 2LS

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday 8.30am-5pm, Friday and Saturday 8.30am-2pm

The Morgan Experience Centre is more than just a museum. Yes, there’s an exhibition area that houses a whole range of vehicles from Morgan’s distant and not-so-distant past, but the Experience also includes a factory tour.

And now there’s also the brand-new Archive Room to delve into. It’s an audio-visual experience showcasing artefacts from across Morgan’s 112-year history, including original blueprints, press cuttings, trophies and artwork, as well as a seven-car display.

For an extra cost, you can even book a one-hour Experience Drive in a Morgan Plus 4.

21. Caister Castle Car Collection

Castle Lane, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk NR30 5SN

Opening hours: Sunday-Friday 10am-4.30pm

The Caister Castle Collection is comprehensive, to say the least. Indeed, this museum says it has ‘probably the largest and certainly the best privately owned motor collection open to the public in the UK’.

As well as bicycles, horse-drawn vehicles and pedal cars, there’s also the very first Ford Fiesta that came off the production line, a Bentley Speed 6, a 1893 Panhard et Levassor, a 1966 Jim Clark Lotus 33 and even Harley-Davidsons.

22. The Bugatti Trust

Prescott Hill, Gotherington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 9RD

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10am-4pm (March-October); Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm (November-February)

The Bugatti Trust has re-opened with a special exhibition that celebrates the centenary of the Gran Premio d’Italia at Brescia in northern Italy. Why? Because Bugatti took the top four places in the race, that’s why.

The museum also details all of Ettore Bugatti’s cars, as well as the trains, boats and planes he designed.

23. Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester

Boyle Street, Cheetham, Manchester M8 8UW

Opening hours: Saturday and Sunday 10am-4.30pm

The Museum of Transport in Greater Manchester is precisely that, a museum of transport, so the collection comprises an extensive range of public transport vehicles, including early horse-drawn buses, trams and the more conventional buses that we all know and love from a number of bygone operators in the Greater Manchester area.

The collection also contains commercial and working vehicles, such as an all-important 1946 Leyland Beaver delivery lorry from Beverley’s Beers, and a 1941 Leyland fire engine.