British Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire. Paid entry.

Details

Accessibility

Baby Changing Facilities

Disability Parking

Disability Toilets

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/plan-your-visit/access-and-facilities

"There is lift access to all floors and there are level floors within the Museum, Café and Collections Centre. 

- Accessible toilets can be found on all levels of the main building and downstairs in the Collections Centre.
- Baby changing facilities are on the ground floor of the Museum.
- Push along cars: swap your pushchairs for our push along cars located next to the Museum Pay Desk.
- A limited number of wheelchairs are available free of charge from the Museum Pay Desk. If you require a wheelchair for your visit we recommend you contact us to check availability on 01926 895300 or email enquiries@britishmotormuseum.co.uk. We can then reserve the wheelchair once we have confirmation that you have purchased your ticket. Visitors are welcome to request a wheelchair upon arrival but we cannot guarantee one will always be available.
- Guide or Assistance Dogs are welcome.
- Portable Induction Loops are available from the Museum Pay Desk or Conference Reception.
- Ear defenders are free and can be collected from the Family activity station
- Quieter times - we are often quieter from 3pm–5pm on weekdays, if you would like to visit when there are fewer people around.

If you have any questions about access, our facilities or you have special requirements please call us on 01926 895300 or email us at: enquiries@britishmotormuseum.co.uk "

Brief description

"The British Motor Museum - the world's largest collection of historic British cars. Celebrating the past, present and future of British motoring.  

There are over 400 British classic cars for our visitors to explore from the collections of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust. Learn about the people behind the cars, the places they were built and hear the stories from our guides. Plus our free tours and interactive family activities will inspire and bring the stories to life - there is plenty to keep everyone entertained. 

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/hubfs/MUSEUM%20WEBSITE/Downloads/Museum%20Map/British-Motor-Museum-Visitor-Map-May21.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Motor_Museum

2024: "The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England holds the world's largest collection of historic British cars, with over 300 cars on display from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust. The creation of the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL) in 1968 saw the bringing together of multiple motor vehicle companies and marques (Austin, Jaguar, Morris, MG, Riley, Rover, Standard Triumph, and Wolseley).[1][2] With many of the companies having their own collections of historic vehicles, in 1975 a centralised Leyland Historic Vehicles department was created to manage these.[1] As the collection got ever larger, in 1983 BL created charitable trusts to ensure that these important collections, not only of vehicles, but of company archives too, would be preserved for the nation.[1][2] The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (BMIHT) was created, and under its umbrella, so were the Austin Rover Group Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust.[2] In 1990, following the acquisition of Jaguar by Ford, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection was moved to the Jaguar Browns Lane plant in Coventry.[2] The Austin Rover Group Heritage Trust, which with the company by then having morphed into the Rover Group, became the Rover Group Trust, transferred its collection in its entirety to the BMIHT.[2]

The collection, some of which was located at Syon Park, London, and the remainder being kept at Studley Castle, Warwickshire,[3][2] continued to grow, and the BMIHT decided that a new building was required to house it all.[1] With financial assistance from the Rover Group, and other benefactors, a large new facility was built, set in 65 acres (260,000 m2) of grounds, on the Rover Group's Gaydon site in Warwickshire (the former RAF Gaydon airfield), and opened as the Heritage Motor Centre in 1993.[2][3] The trust's complete collection, which included more than 25 vehicles, was relocated to the new centre.[3][2]

The museum became a Designated Collection when it was added to the "exceptional cultural collections" of the Arts Council England in December 2014.[4]

In 2015, the museum was temporarily closed for a £1.1 million refurbishment and rebranding to take place. Additionally, a new £4 million two-storey Collection Centre was built to house the reserve collection of the trust.[5] The museum was reopened on 13 February 2016 as the British Motor Museum.[6][5] The new Collection Centre houses about 250 extra vehicles, and is used for both BMIHT and Jaguar Heritage Trust (formerly the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust) cars.[2]

Following Jaguar's decision to close their Jaguar Heritage Centre, a small selection of the Jaguar Heritage Collection has been on display at the Museum.

In 2003 more than sixty cars from the collection were auctioned off by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust;[7] over forty more cars were sold off from the museum in 2006.[8] This is not an exhaustive list — a complete list is provided on the centre's website. Due to space limitations, not all cars are exhibited at all times.

• The very first Land Rover (1948)
• The first and last production models of the Land Rover Freelander
• Various Land Rover, Range Rover, and Rover P5 vehicles used by the British Royal Family and senior politicians
• An SAS Land Rover
• Prototype Land Rover 101 Recovery Truck
• Shaun the Sheep Land Rover Defender
• Land Rover Series 2 track wheeled off-road vehicle
• Rare Land Rover Llama lorry
• The millionth Land Rover Discovery 4
• The first and last production models of the Rover 75
• Rover Gas Turbine cars
• The Metro 1.3 HLS as shown at the 1980 Motor Show
• Metro 6R4 Rally Car
• Various MG Speed Record cars
• The first Mini produced: 621 AOK
• The last Rover Mini Cooper produced (2000)
• The Minis that won the Monte Carlo Rally during the 1960s
• Various Mini based prototypes, such as the Minissima
• FAB1 from the Thunderbirds film
• An Ascari KZ1 show car from 2000
• Rolls-Royce Phantom
• The last Aston Martin DB7
• Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
• Sinclair C5
• Ford RS200
• The last production Austin Montego
• Ford Escort Mark I as used in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally
• Jaguar R1 Formula One racecar from 2000
• Nuffield Gutty prototype"

Address

British Motor Museum

Banbury Road, 

Gaydon, 

Warwickshire, 

CV35 0BJ

Email

enquiries@britishmotormuseum.co.uk

Phone

01926 895300 Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

Saturday - Sunday 10am - 5pm

Website

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Motor_Museum

Directions

If using a Sat Nav for directions we recommend you enter the British Motor Museum as a point of interest rather than using the postcode.what3words: ///smiled.harmonica.ivory takes you to the Museum entrance.

"The British Motor Museum is five minutes from Junction 12 of the M40, on the B4100 near the village of Gaydon. It is signed locally with brown Motor Museum road signs.

Travelling by car

Exit the M40 at Junction 12 and turn left, following the brown Motor Museum signs. Continue for approximately 1 mile and the entrance to the British Motor Museum is on your left.

If using a Sat Nav for directions we recommend you enter the British Motor Museum as a point of interest rather than using the postcode. 

The Museum has free and ample parking for its Museum visitors. 

Cycling

If you're travelling from out of the area, the nearest rail stations are Leamington Spa & Banbury.

If you're planning to cycle from nearby, plan your route using the Cycle Streets website here.

The British Motor Museum has a bike park on the gravel parking area around the back of the main Museum building. 

Electric Vehicle Charging Points

There are six charging points to the rear of the Museum visitor car park, two of which have a 22kw charging socket and the rest have 7kw charging sockets. There are four charging points at the Conference Entrance located at the back of the Museum building, each with 7kw charging sockets. You can charge your electric vehicle using the Shell Recharge Solutions app or ad-hoc using a QR code on each of the EV stations.

Charging Costs

For best value use the Shell Recharge app. For ad-hoc charging, there may be a small surcharge in addition to the regular charging tariff.  Always check that you are happy with the charging tariff before you begin.

Download the Shell Recharge App be "

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/admission-opening-times

Transport

2024: "The regular bus service which visits the British Motor Museum operates between Kenilworth and Kineton - (No. X77). For an up-to-date timetable visit the Stagecoach website. Our nearest mainline rail stations are at Warwick (8 miles), Leamington Spa (8 miles) and Banbury (11 miles). Taxi services are available to and from the station, or you can pre-book with our recommended supplier White House Cars – call 07854 028461."

Amenities

Baby changing facilities.

https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/plan-your-visit/access-and-facilities