About
Tucked inside a converted 18th-century watermill beside the River Windrush in the heart of the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Motoring Museum is a supremely charming and idiosyncratic collection tracing a century of British motoring and popular culture. Founded in 1978, the museum houses over 30 vintage and classic vehicles — motorcycles, cars, caravans, and commercial vans — displayed alongside an extraordinary accumulation of period petrol station signs, enamel advertising plaques, toy cars, period clothing, and domestic memorabilia that together conjure the smell, texture, and spirit of every decade from the Edwardian age through the 1970s.
The collection is perhaps best known as the home of Brum, the small yellow Austin Seven-based car that starred in the much-loved BBC children's television series from 1991 to 2002, drawing devoted fans of all ages.
Among the vehicles on display are a 1920s Morris Cowley Bull-Nose, a pre-war Austin Seven, a 1930s Jowett Javelin, a Lea-Francis Sports tourer, several vintage motorcycles including a rare Scott Flying Squirrel, and a beautifully preserved 1950s caravan that evokes the golden age of British holiday motoring.
The densely packed displays reward slow, nostalgic exploration: there are pedal cars, vintage cycles, AA and RAC badges, motoring goggles, picnic hampers, and glass petrol pumps lining every available space. The atmospheric mill-building setting — complete with working waterwheel visible through internal windows — adds enormously to the experience, making this one of the most characterful small transport museums in England.
Situated in Bourton-on-the-Water, consistently voted one of the most beautiful villages in the Cotswolds, the museum makes an ideal complement to a day exploring the surrounding villages, giving visitors an insight into how ordinary families travelled through this beloved English landscape over a hundred years of motoring.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Allow at least 90 minutes — the density of displays rewards careful exploration and there is far more to see than first appears
- Brum the TV car is a must-see for fans of the children's television series and makes a great photo opportunity
- Bourton-on-the-Water's other attractions include a model village, a perfumery, and a dragonfly maze — plan a full day in the village
- The museum closes mid-November and reopens mid-February, so always confirm seasonal opening before travelling
- Car parking in Bourton-on-the-Water is Pay and Display in village car parks — arrive early in summer as the village gets very busy at weekends and school holidays
- The gift shop stocks Brum merchandise and motoring memorabilia books that are hard to find elsewhere
- The mill building is old and interesting in itself — look for the working waterwheel through the internal windows and the preserved millstones
Highlights
Brum the TV Car
The museum's most-photographed exhibit is Brum — the small, cheerful Austin Seven-based car that starred in the BBC children's television series from 1991 to 2002.
The plucky little yellow car became one of the most recognisable vehicles on British television, and generations of fans flock to see it in person. Displayed in a dedicated area of the museum, Brum sits ready to delight children and nostalgic adults alike.
The TV series, created by animator Martyn Day and based on the character created by author Hazel Edwards, portrayed Brum going on adventures in a big city, using its wit and resourcefulness to foil villains. The original working car used in the production is a genuine piece of television history.
Enamel Advertising Signs Collection
Covering every available wall space throughout the museum, the extraordinary collection of original enamel advertising signs is one of the finest in private hands in Britain. Spanning roughly 1900 to 1960, the signs advertise motor oils, petrol brands, tyres, garages, and motoring accessories in vivid period graphics.
Shell, Esso, Pratts, Cleveland Discol, and Redex signs jostle for space with Dunlop, Michelin, Avon, and Firestone hoardings.
The collection represents not just advertising history but a visual record of the brands and graphic styles that shaped Britain's visual landscape in the first half of the twentieth century. Many signs are exceptionally rare examples that survived demolition of old filling stations.
1920s and 1930s Motor Cars
The museum's vehicle collection centres on the golden age of British motoring between the wars.
A lovely Morris Cowley Bull-Nose from the early 1920s — the affordable family car that democratised motoring for the middle classes — sits alongside a pre-war Austin Seven, the car that brought motoring within reach of ordinary British households. A beautifully preserved 1930s Jowett Javelin and a Lea-Francis Sports tourer represent the sporting ambitions of the era.
Each vehicle is displayed with period context including clothing, motoring accessories, and memorabilia from its era, allowing visitors to understand not just the mechanical evolution of the car but the social history of the people who drove them.
Vintage Motorcycles
Among the finest exhibits in the collection are several rare British motorcycles that represent the golden era of domestic motorcycle manufacture. A Scott Flying Squirrel — the idiosyncratic two-stroke twin from Bradford that was famously quiet and fast — is a highlight coveted by enthusiasts. Accompanying it are examples from other pre-war British marques that once dominated world motorcycling.
The collection illustrates how Britain was the world's leading motorcycle producer through much of the early twentieth century before Japanese competition transformed the market in the 1960s and 70s. The display includes period clothing, goggles, and sidecar equipment.
Collections
The Cotswold Motoring Museum holds approximately 30 vintage and classic vehicles alongside one of Britain's most comprehensive collections of motoring memorabilia. The collection spans the full century of motoring history from the Edwardian period to the 1970s, with particular strength in the interwar years from 1919 to 1939.
Vehicles include cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, and caravans, all displayed with period-appropriate accessories and context.
The memorabilia collection is exceptional in its breadth, encompassing over a thousand enamel advertising signs, petrol pump globes, garage equipment, AA and RAC members' regalia, period motoring clothing and accessories, children's toy cars and pedal cars, and domestic memorabilia illustrating how the car transformed British family and social life.
The museum's most famous resident is Brum, the television car, but for serious collectors the enamel sign collection and the rare vintage motorcycles are equally compelling.
The Vehicle Collection
Approximately 30 vehicles spanning 1903 to the 1970s displayed chronologically through the mill building
Brum's Corner
Dedicated display area for the famous BBC television car with production memorabilia and photographs
The Filling Station
Recreation of a period British petrol station complete with original pumps, signage, and garage equipment
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.