Toutes les Machines du Monde
Great Britain
Click on the photo for each museum to visit our photo page for that museum
Museums are arranged by rating, with Auto & Motorcycle collections first followed by Aviation & Rail
Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum, New Milton, England ★★★★★
Wow! This is a terrific place and an absolute must see for any enthusiast. Hundreds of bikes in fantastic condition all displayed in a wonderful converted farmhouse with outbuildings. Excellent natural lighting and with tons of posters and other art work on the walls. The bikes themselves are amazing in their diversity and historical significance. Primarily British, but with plenty of international flavor as well. The list of one-offs and prototypes from manufacturers you’ve probably never heard of is lengthy and the racing section is chock full of bikes ridden by Sammy to his many victories and championships. There is much to learn from this collection and you should allow yourself at least one full day to explore it all; more if possible. A small but knowledgeable and friendly staff is on hand and Sammy lives on site so may be seen on any given occasion. This is a terrific and wonderful place; I’m tempted to say enchanted, as I surely was by my visit.
Donington Grand Prix Collection, Derbyshire, England ★★★★★
www.donington-park.co.uk/about-donington/the-donington-grand-prix-collection/
Donnington Park is one of many historic British racing venues. We came across this wonderful collection of racing cars while on the way to another course, nearby Mallory Park. Billed as the “Largest showcase of Grand Prix racing cars in the world”, the collection is truly impressive. Emphasis is on British cars but the collection includes other cars as well. Wonderfully displayed, with great posters and other information displays, this is a don’t miss museum of auto racing. We returned for a second visit in 2014 (our first time was in 2010) and found many changes. We learned that at any given time many of the cars on display are on loan to the museum and so may not be there on a subsequent visit. Also, some of the cars that are part of the permanent collection may be lent out to other venues. As a result, there was a lot of turnover in the specific cars on display for our two visits. Nonetheless, this is still an excellent museum and all of my positive comments from the first visit still apply. On our photo page, the first fourteen pictures are from 2010; the remainder from 2014 so you can see the changes for yourself.
British National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, England ★★★★★
www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/museum/
This is a wonderful collection of bikes, mostly British, spanning all eras of motorcycle design. Racing figures are featured in sepia tone posters lining the walls of the several large exhibit areas. The facility is all the more amazing because the building and many of the motorcycles within were burned to the ground in 2003, requiring a complete rebuild and the restoration of many priceless machines. Today the collection numbers 650 bikes and should be considered an absolute must see for any enthusiast.
Morgan Motor Company, Malvern, England ★★★★★
This iconic car company remains family owned and operated after more than one hundred years of production. It is an amazing company with a well established and solidly based niche in the worldwide marketplace. In addition to the “old” cars still hand built in the traditional manner, they manufacture state of the art sports and racing cars and a fantastic new three-wheeler that harks back to the original Morgan. There is a small museum but it is the factory tour that is the reason to visit. It provides a real education and the company is something of an inspiration. A nominal fee is charged and reservations are required. Check out their website for details.
National Auto Museum, Beaulieu, England ★★★★
The National Auto Museum of Britain is located in the New Forest of Southern England, west of Portsmouth, on the private estates of Lord Montagu. The cars are very nicely shown in a modern purpose built building with period backgrounds and building fronts for atmosphere. While not overly large, the collection includes many attractive autos and seems to have a rather large staff on hand to maintain and show them to best advantage. Be sure to catch the daily running of one of the older units as this is a rare treat. The main downside to a visit to the museum is the high cost of entry as the visitor must pay for a visit to the entire grounds of the estate and not only the auto museum portion; at the time of our visit in October 2015, entry was £18, or about $27.00. On the other hand, for the traveling family the rest of the estate could also make for a wonderful visit.
The Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset, England ★★★★
This particular museum was, I must say, a bit of a disappointment. In all honesty as I review the photos and am reminded of the collection itself it is really quite good. The variety of cars is perhaps not really special, although they are clean and appear to be well maintained. I felt there were four specific things about the museum that lessened my opinion of it at the time of my 2015 visit. The first is perhaps a bit unfair. I visited this museum in close combination with both the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum, which is truly special; and the British National Auto Museum, Beaulieu, which is excellent. The Haynes is simply not on the same level as these two nearby competitors. Also, while the building is new and was purpose built to house the collection I found it to be fairly mundane and did not think it showed the cars to good advantage; in part because it is not large enough for the collection and as a result most of the cars really are crammed together. I also felt that at £12, the entry fee was rather steep. Lastly the people in charge of the displays chose to fill one of the larger display rooms with a large number of British sports cars - all of which were RED. I was not impressed with this mono colored technique, which they repeated in a smaller display of yellow cars in another room. Nonetheless, I’ve given the Haynes Museum an only slightly reluctant four star rating and do encourage a visit. Just don’t visit in close proximity to the other two sites I’ve mentioned and try to find a discount coupon first.
Oulton Park Racing Circuit, Tarporley, Chestershire, England ★★★★
This is one of England’s top racing circuits and the Gold Cup has a long and storied history. It was once a non-championship Formula 1 event, back when such things existed, but for many years it has been one of the premier Historic Races in the country. Perhaps not quite of the stature of the Goodwood or Silverstone events, but not at the rarified price point of those events either. The circuit is beautiful and the fields in the many races were excellent and enthusiastic, as were the many folks in attendance. The paddock was open all weekend and many clubs were in attendance with lovely cars on display. An outstanding experience; highly recommended.
Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey, England ★★★★
Brooklands lays claim to being the first purpose built auto racing track in the world, in 1906. It was the hub of British motorsport before WWII and has a ton of history to share. It exhibits autos, but also motorcycles, bicycles and airplanes, including far more planes than I have shown here. I only went into the main historic hanger, but other planes are shown out in the open, including a Concorde. The car displays are excellent if somewhat crowded. They are exhibited in two historic sheds from when the track was active. Lighting is kind of hit or miss unfortunately, but the historic atmosphere is very real. As you can see in the photos, there is excellent informational material on display, and far more than I’ve been able to show as the glare on some of the display cases made photography impossible. Special emphasis is placed on the great British Land Speed Record attempts made in the ‘20s & ‘30s by men such as Malcolm Campbell and John Cobb. So, a very worthwhile venue and deserving of a visit. I spent two hours and could easily have used more.
Jaguar Heritage Museum, Coventry, England ★★★★
www.jaguar.com/gb/en/experience/visit/jaguar_heritage_museum
This museum is not directly run by Jaguar, but by the Jaguar Heritage Foundation. The collection is apparently much larger than the space available, so the actual cars on display will vary from time to time. At the time of our visit large numbers of cars were off on loan, so we hope to return. The attractive display venue is purpose built for the collection, but the mostly natural lighting is difficult for photography.
Mallory Park Racing Circuit, Kirkby Mallory, England ★★★★
This is one of a group of smaller racing circuits dotted across central England. Not world renowned but with a long history of motor racing. In 2010 we attended a delightful weekend of low cost, low key historic races sponsored by Morgan and the Jaguar club and had a ball. England is of course an enthusiast’s dream when it comes to being able to attend club level racing events, historic or otherwise.
Jim Clark Room, Duns, Scotland ★★★★
www.duns.bordernet.co.uk/tourist/attractions/clark.html
Joey Dunlop Memorial Gardens, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland ★★★★
www.visitballymoney.com/joey-dunlop-memorial-garden.aspx
These two great racers have each been honored by their home town with small but impressive memorials. Jim Clark was the finest Grand Prix driver of the 1960s, winner of twenty-five Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. He was World Champion in 1963 and 1965, but tragically died in a crash in 1967. This site contains trophies, driving gear and other memorabilia along with many photographs of Jim and his racing cars
Joey Dunlop was a motorcycle racer who dominated racing on the Isle of Man for many years, winning the main event 24 times. He won the TT World Championship five consecutive years in the 1980s. He was also a great humanitarian and was awarded the MBE for services to sport and the OBE for humanitarian work. He died in a crash in 2000.
Both men are remembered not only as racers but as gentlemen.
Coventry Transport Museum, Coventry, England ★★★
This museum is located in downtowm Coventry, once the manufacturing hub of England. It features a large collection of bicycles and cars along with some motorbikes; all manufactured in or around Coventry. Information plaques tell the story of the changing fortunes of companies who moved from sewing machines to bicycles to motorcars in an effort to keep pace with a changing world. Also displayed are segments on the effect of World Wars I and II on the population, the workforce at the many factories and the country in general. Probably not to be regarded as a top notch motor museum, but nontheless a worthwhile stop. Admission is free.
Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum, Halland, England ★★★
We were looking for an official Bentley museum, but we found this one instead; a private collection located on a lovely, if somewhat rustic, estate. The cars are very nice if not really exceptional and the grounds and wildfowl are charming and at least as worthy of the visit. I’ve included a few pictures of the wildfowl just for fun. Near as we could tell, the Bentley name is incidental.
The Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridge, England ★★★★
www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford
There are five Imperial War Museums in England. This site is located on a retired bomber base near Cambridge and, while not actually a Royal Air Force museum, it is the one IWM site that focuses on aircraft. We drove by one day and noted a sign for an air show to be held over the weekend so we arranged to return to see the show and the aircraft displays. The museum visit was well worthwhile and the air show itself was great fun. Admission is free.
The Royal Air Force Museum London, Hendon, England ★★★★
The Royal Air Force has two main museums in England. This one, located in Hendon in northwest London, focuses on the Battle of Britain, though other periods are displayed as well. The other location, at Cosford, specializes on the Cold War period. We visited Cosford earlier this year and will post photos soon. The Hendon museum makes for a wonderful visit, with many planes on display in four roomy hangers. My only negative comment would be that three of the four display areas are quite dark for photographic purposes, particularly the main Battle of Britain display where it seems an attempt is made to darken the entire area to resemble a night time scene during the blitz. Despite this one caveat, the museum is well worth the visit. The WWI display was undergoing renovation at the time of our visit in 2014. Admission is free.
The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Woolverhampton, England ★★★★
This is the second of the two main Royal Air Force museums in England; this one located in Cosford in the Midlands northwest of Birmingham. Its focus is on the Cold War period, but no RAF museum can ignore the WWII Battle of Britain, which is also represented. The museum is housed in a modern facility and though everything is a bit crowded, good information displays are provided and the history of the cold war is well told. The huge bombers and many missles on display are actually a bit frightening as they recall the time when a nuclear holocaust seemed likely. Perhaps not as special a place as either Duxford or Hendon, this is still a pretty cool place to visit. Admission is free with a nominal charge for parking.
Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, England ★★★
www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/the-memorial/
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Lincolnshire, England ★★★
The Battle of Britain is an important historical milestone to all of Britain and there is no shortage of remembrances in varying forms throughout the country; these are just two of them. The Memorial Flight is an organization that maintains aircraft of the type used in the Battle in flying condition and displays them at airshows around the country. The memorial on the Dover cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne is the National Memorial to those who gave their lives in the Battle of Britain. We have shared a few photos from each of them here.
National Railway Museum, York, England ★★★★
This is a wonderful museum filled with great machinery and displays. It is housed, not surprisingly, in York’s old train station. Unfortunately, the natural light coming in from the skylights does not aid the photographer, but the trains and other displays more than make up for it. Well worth the visit if you are in the area, and it is walking distance from the cathedral and old town. We have also visited the subsidiary NRM site in nearby Shildon and have included some photos from there as well. While also interesting and worthy of a visit, it is naturally a lesser site than the main display at York.
