About
Lakeland Motor Museum, occupying the former Old Blue Mill site at Backbarrow near Newby Bridge on the southern edge of the Lake District in Cumbria, is one of the largest independent transport museums in the north of England, housing a substantial collection of around thirty thousand exhibits spanning well over a century of motoring, motorcycling and mechanical history.
The museum grew from a private collection of classic and vintage vehicles amassed over decades and has since developed into a genuinely comprehensive transport heritage attraction, its galleries filled with immaculately restored cars, motorcycles, bicycles, automobilia, advertising material and mechanical curiosities that together chart the evolution of road transport from the pioneering era of motoring through to more recent decades, appealing equally to dedicated enthusiasts and casual visitors drawn in by the sheer scale and variety of what is on display.
Among the museum's most celebrated features is the Campbell Bluebird Exhibition, dedicated to Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald Campbell, the father-and-son pairing who between them set numerous world land and water speed records across the twentieth century using a succession of vehicles and boats named Bluebird, a family motoring and speed-record dynasty with a particularly poignant local connection: Donald Campbell died on nearby Coniston Water in January 1967 while attempting to break his own water speed record in the jet-powered hydroplane Bluebird K7, an event that remains one of the most significant and tragic episodes in British motorsport history and gives the museum's Bluebird exhibition a genuine emotional resonance rooted in the immediate local landscape.
The wider collection ranges far beyond the Bluebird story, encompassing veteran and vintage cars from the earliest decades of motoring, classic motorcycles from numerous British and international manufacturers, and a rich array of automobilia and period advertising that together build a vivid picture of changing British motoring culture across the twentieth century.
The museum's setting within the former Old Blue Mill buildings adds an additional layer of industrial heritage interest to a visit, the site itself having its own earlier working history before its conversion to house the transport collection.
As an independent, family-founded institution rather than a manufacturer-branded or nationally funded museum, Lakeland Motor Museum retains a distinctive personal character shaped by its origins as a private collection, while its scale and depth of holdings place it firmly among the most substantial transport museums of its kind in England, making it a natural and rewarding stop for visitors exploring the southern Lake District beyond the area's more famous scenic and literary attractions.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Allow at least two hours to properly explore the museum's substantial collection of around 30,000 exhibits.
- Don't miss the Campbell Bluebird Exhibition, the museum's most distinctive and locally resonant highlight.
- Combine your visit with a trip to nearby Coniston Water for the fuller Bluebird story in its actual local landscape.
- Bring a camera, as the collection includes many genuinely photogenic classic and vintage vehicles.
- Check current opening hours before travelling, particularly over the winter months.
- Use the on-site café to break up a longer visit given the scale of the collection.
- Combine your visit with wider exploration of the southern Lake District around Newby Bridge and Windermere.
- Ask staff about specific vehicles of interest, as many have detailed individual histories beyond the information panels.
Highlights
The Campbell Bluebird Exhibition
A dedicated exhibition on Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald Campbell, whose succession of Bluebird cars and boats set numerous world land and water speed records across the twentieth century, with a particularly poignant local connection to Donald Campbell's fatal 1967 attempt on nearby Coniston Water.
Around 30,000 Transport Exhibits
The museum's overall collection of roughly thirty thousand exhibits, spanning cars, motorcycles, bicycles and automobilia, gives Lakeland Motor Museum a scale and depth among the most substantial independent transport museums anywhere in England.
Veteran and Vintage Car Collection
Immaculately restored cars from the earliest pioneering decades of motoring through to later classic and vintage eras chart the changing technology and design of the automobile across more than a century.
Classic Motorcycle Displays
A substantial collection of classic motorcycles from numerous British and international manufacturers illustrates the parallel history of two-wheeled transport alongside the museum's car-focused holdings.
Collections
Lakeland Motor Museum's collection of around thirty thousand exhibits ranges across veteran, vintage and classic cars, motorcycles, bicycles, automobilia and period advertising material, charting more than a century of British and international motoring history. The museum's centrepiece is the Campbell Bluebird Exhibition, dedicated to Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald Campbell's world land and water speed record attempts, a story with a particularly resonant local connection given Donald Campbell's fatal 1967 accident on nearby Coniston Water.
Grown from an originally private collection into one of the largest independent transport museums in the north of England, the museum retains a distinctive personal character while offering genuinely comprehensive coverage of its subject.
Campbell Bluebird Exhibition
The story of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell's world land and water speed record attempts across the twentieth century.
The History of Motoring
Veteran, vintage and classic cars, motorcycles and automobilia charting more than a century of road transport history.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.