Cotswold Motoring Museum

Cotswold Motoring Museum Home of TV's Brum! Seven galleries packed with vintage cars, a fascinating toy collection and unique motoring curiosities. Motor on down!
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More than just a motoring museum, the Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection is a vintage day out, perfect for families and vintage car enthusiasts. Located in beautiful Bourton-on-the-Water, the Cotswold Motoring Museum is a fascinating journey through the 20th Century with its 7 galleries packed with classic cars, motorbikes and caravans. The museum is also home to TV's Brum and is actually where the series was filmed. There's even a special Brum to ride on!

Hey Brum fans! Brum’s birthday is coming up and we need your help to make it extra special! 🎂We’d love you to send us a ...
16/09/2026

Hey Brum fans!

Brum’s birthday is coming up and we need your help to make it extra special! 🎂

We’d love you to send us a short video (10 seconds max) wishing Brum a very happy birthday! Whether it’s you, your little ones or the whole family, we’d love to see your birthday messages.

📩 Send your video to us via Messenger on Facebook or DM us on Instagram by 22nd September.

Then keep your eyes on our page for Brum’s birthday surprise on Saturday 26th September! 👀🎉

Let’s show Brum just how much we love him!

26/08/2026

In the 1920s, William Lyons and William Walmsley were making motorcycle sidecars under the name Swallow Sidecar Company. But Lyons spotted an opportunity: take an affordable little car like the Austin Seven and give it something it didn’t normally have — serious style.

The result was the Austin Seven Swallow. Underneath was the familiar Austin, but its elegant new body made it look far more expensive than it was. It proved there was an appetite for beautiful, aspirational cars at accessible prices, an idea that would help shape everything William Lyons did next.

Swallow went on to become SS Cars, and eventually, Jaguar Cars.

So this unassuming little Austin in our collection? It’s not just an Austin Seven. It’s a fascinating piece of the story that led to one of Britain’s most famous motoring names. 🇬🇧

Come and see the Austin Seven Swallow for yourself at Cotswold Motoring Museum and discover the stories hiding behind the cars you might otherwise walk straight past.

19/08/2026

Imagine breaking down miles from home with no mobile phone in your pocket…

AA roadside boxes like this one were once a lifeline for motorists, giving members a way to call for assistance when something went wrong on the road. And this isn’t just any old AA box, the one in our collection originally stood right here in Bourton-on-the-Water.

It’s one of those pieces of motoring history that’s easy to walk straight past, until you stop and imagine actually needing to use it.

Next time you visit Cotswold Motoring Museum, take a closer look. There are stories hiding in almost every corner. 👀

17/08/2026

There was a time when these weren’t classics… they were the cars taking families on their August Bank Holiday adventures. 🚗

Volvos loaded with luggage, Minis packed to the rafters, caravans hitched up behind and the Carawagon ready for a proper adventure. No sat nav or screens, just a road map, a packed car and the open road ahead.

Today, you can see these cars and so many more at the Cotswold Motoring Museum and take a trip back through motoring history. What did your family head off on holiday in and where did it take you?

12/08/2026

Did you get it right? 👀

It’s a 1920s Miami Water Bike! Essentially a bicycle designed to be ridden on water.

But its journey to the museum is almost as strange as the bike itself. When it was discovered for sale in Florida, the owner insisted it didn’t work. He believed that once the two halves were properly assembled, it would simply sink under the weight of its rider.

The museum bought it anyway, brought it back to the UK and put it together… only to discover the seller had assembled it incorrectly.

The Water Bike worked after all! 🌊

And now, nearly a century later, it’s hanging in our museum, and there’s a good chance you’ve walked straight past it without ever knowing its story.

What else have you spotted in the museum that you’d like us to tell you about? 👀

29/07/2026

At first glance, the Cotswold Motoring Museum looks surprisingly small.

But once you step through the doors, it’s easy to see why so many visitors compare it to a TARDIS. Every room leads to another, revealing more classic cars, motorcycles, memorabilia and stories from Britain’s motoring past.

Housed inside a converted 18th-century watermill, the museum has grown over the years into one of the Cotswolds’ most-loved attractions—and it’s full of surprises around every corner.

So… is this the Cotswolds’ very own TARDIS?

Let us know what you think below!

Think you know your motoring history? 🚗Before sat navs, touchscreens and push-button starts, these everyday objects were...
26/07/2026

Think you know your motoring history? 🚗

Before sat navs, touchscreens and push-button starts, these everyday objects were part of life for millions of motorists.

Some made driving easier. Others made it safer. A few have disappeared altogether.

But every one of them helped shape British motoring as we know it today.

As you swipe, see how many you recognise… and be honest! 👀

👇 What’s your score?

- 0–3: Modern motorist 🚙
- 4–7: Motoring enthusiast 🚗
- 8–10: True classic car expert 🏁

📤 Share it with a parent, grandparent or classic car lover and see if they can beat your score.

Seen something you didn’t recognise? Come and discover the rest at Cotswold Motoring Museum.

If you could live in any motoring era… which would you choose? 🚗From the roaring 1920s roadsters to the colourful classi...
08/07/2026

If you could live in any motoring era… which would you choose? 🚗

From the roaring 1920s roadsters to the colourful classics of the 1970s, every decade had its own style, personality and unforgettable vehicles.

So here’s the challenge…

Swipe through each decade and tell us which one feels most like you.

Are you…

✨ A sophisticated 1930s classic?

✨ A chrome-loving 1950s icon?

✨ A free-spirited 1960s adventurer?

✨ Or a 1990s kid who’ll always have a soft spot for Brum?

We’d love to know which decade you’d choose and which vehicle caught your eye.👇

Every vehicle featured can be found here at the Cotswold Motoring Museum in the heart of Bourton-on-the-Water.

📍 Planning a visit? Save this post for later.

👯 Tag someone you’d love to take on a trip through motoring history.

06/07/2026

Built in the early 1960s by R.J. Searle Ltd, transformed the iconic Land Rover into a compact home on wheels. Complete with a pop-top roof, sleeping space and cooking facilities, the Landrover Carawagon was designed for those who wanted to explore beyond the beaten track.

More than 60 years later, it’s still a fascinating piece of British motoring history, and you can step inside and see just how cleverly it was designed here at the Cotswold Motoring Museum.

Tag the person who’d spend hours exploring this! 🚙 🏕️

04/07/2026

🏁 🏎️ While the world’s eyes are on Silverstone this weekend, we’re taking a step back in time…

Long before modern Formula 1, Britain’s passion for speed was already taking shape in racing cars like the Brooklyn’s Riley.

Named after Britain’s first purpose-built racing circuit, the Brooklands captured the spirit of early motorsport, where lightweight engineering, bravery and innovation mattered just as much as outright speed.

It’s cars like this that helped lay the foundations for the incredible motorsport heritage we celebrate today.

If this weekend has inspired your inner racing fan, why not come and discover the stories behind the cars that came before Formula 1? You might be surprised by what you’ll find.

📍Cotswold Motoring Museum, Bourton-on-the-Water

Address

Sherborne Street
Bourton On The Water
GL542BY

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

01451 821255

Website

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