World Travellers

The lady who wishes to see England but is married to a couch potato who doesn’t like to travel may be able to spring him off the couch and into an airplane seat if she researches and plans her trip around the extensive automobile attractions that England has to offer. As a quick surf on Google will reveal, England has a plethora of automobile museums. However, in England they are usually referred to as motor transport museums.

One very large museum with an extensive collection of over 400 cars is the Haynes International Motor Museum at Sparkford in Somerset. It houses the largest collection of the world’s greatest cars. And for traveling families, there is an adventure play area, Super Diggers, soft play bus, and a children’s activity center. The automotive display is spread over eleven themed halls including the famous Red Room in Hall Number 2. The Red Room showcases fifty red sports cars from all over the world, for example a 1981 Lamborghini Countach 400s and a 1965 AC Cobra.

The first hall contains cars from birth to 1910 such as a 1900 clement 2.25hp Voiturette. Hall 5 exhibits a blend of veteran, vintage, Edwardian and classics. Here one can find a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Derham bodied Tourster and a Jaguar collection. Hall 7 is devoted to motor sport and exhibits racing cars such as the 1996 Ferrari Formula 1 Type F310(DC) and the 1926 BugatiT35B. There is also a display of restored British motorcycles and an exhibit of rare speedway bikes.

The Millennium Hall is devoted to cars from the last 25 years that could become the classics of the future, for example the 1981 Volkswagen Golf Gti and the 1998 Jaguar X1220. And those who are more interested in celebrity vehicles can leave Haynes and travel on to the Cars of the Stars Keswick on Standish Street in Keswick Cumbria. Here fans of James Bond will find a significant James Bond collection featuring several cars actually driven in the films. There is the copper colored Lotus Esprit Turbo that Roger Moore drove during the second part of the film ‘For your Eyes Only’ and the white Lotus esprit S1 of the famous chase in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.

The museum’s regular collection showcases the famous wicker painted Mini Cooper used in the Pink Panther film, ‘A Shot in the Dark.’ Also included in the collection is a Herbie The Love Bug vehicle. This one was used in ‘Herbie Goes Bananas’ and is outfitted with gears and pedals so the driver can be unseen giving the appearance of a car with no driver. Batman fans will be pleased to see two Batmobiles and there is also the actual tuk-tuk taxi from the film ‘Octopussy’.

Racing enthusiasts will want to visit Donington Park near the East Midlands Airport. Donington features its famous Grand Prix collection that is the most extensive exhibit of single-seater race cars in the world. In addition to the cars, there is a display of memorabilia including helmets, gloves and old programs. And when tired of museums, it is also possible to join a tour of Britain’s exclusive automobile factories such as Rolls Royce and Bentley.

By: Brenda Williams

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