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Our journey features over 130 Classic cars, and takes you through the golden ages of British car design and manufacturing, starting with the Austin Seven, through to the Morris Minor, classic Mini, Ford Escort and everything in between.

You will be guided around the exhibition by an interactive tablet, which also includes a special children’s tour. We also have a great café where you can relax after your remarkable tour through time.

Take a quick video tour of our attraction to discover what you can expect when you visit our interactive car museum.

The Journey is organised into chapters that tell the fascinating story of the pioneers, entrepreneurs, industrialists that built the British motor industry. 

From Herbert Austin to William Morris to the Rootes Brothers, you will discover how they built their empires as you explore the cars they created in our exhibition.

Our fully interactive audio-visual guide helps you uncover Great British innovations and the stories behind over 130 carefully selected cars from the Austin Seven to the Metro and beyond!

Whether it was your first car, your family car or the car you passed your test in, we are pretty sure you will find it in the Great British Car Journey.

There are plenty of photo opportunities inside too!

You will discover that many of the cars in the Great British Car Journey collection also have their own unique stories related to their owners and their history.

You can even pull out the choke, turn the key and take a trip down memory lane with our unique classic car driving experience Drive Dad’s Car.

The unique corporate event experience

What Our Visitors Think

I had no idea a car museum could be so interesting...My interest in cars WAS limited to 'as long as they start, get me to the destination and do not break down'. However I was very impressed with this venue. Exhibits clean, sufficient information to spike an interest and an excellent audio tour. I have seen a number if cars my father had and a few I had owned so became very relevant. A great deal of passion was put into this collection which I fully appreciate. Connected all the random bits I had accumulated about Morris, Austin, Leyland and the like into a cohesive history.

Mike D

Tripadvisor.co.uk

My wife and I only discovered this place after visiting the local distillery virtually next door. We decided to book to go and WOW what value for money this was. Amazing array of cars and the information available was incredible. An absolute joy to visit and we we’ll definitely be back as too much to see for one visit. Really well laid out as well. Brilliant and value for money…….

William H

Tripadvisor.co.uk

This was better than a "museum" experience as the journey walks through the last 100 years of a wide range of vehicles. So if you're 30 or 70 you will likely find your first car here and cars that you find interesting from the past. A lot better than I thought it would be

Andrew Robinson

Tripadvisor.co.uk

Our whole family enjoyed our visit to the Great British Car Journey, but me especially. Cars were a huge part of my childhood and growing up, and to see pretty much every one of the cars I’ve driven and owned over the years, from my Ford Escort mk1 and my Dad’s Cortina mk2 to my pride and joy MG midget, it was a great trip down memory lane 😃 - Well worth a visit!

Claire Ashford

Linkedin.co.uk

Excellent Day Out at fab museum . A real find . Unbelievable selection of cars - best car museum ever been to . Partner took advantage of a drive in a Triumph TR7 and loved it .Friendly staff were helpful and approachable. Good value for money too
Highly recommended

Jane D

Tripadvisor.co.uk

Stumbled across this museum on way to Bakewell and stopped as it was hubby’s birthday and what an extra special treat it was. This museum is an absolute joy for anyone of any age. The interactive headsets we were given were amazing. They allowed you to set your own pace and the information given was really, really good. Some of the cars have incredibly fascinating back stories. There is such a variety of British cars on show which are immaculate and it is very obvious that they have been restored and exhibited with love. We will definitely be back.

BoardingPass306755

Tripadvisor.co.uk

Great visit.Loved how many of the car's in the exhibition were models that I had owned and driven since passing my test many years ago. Definitely going to visit again and would recommend anyone who loves cars to visit.
My children (aged 9 & 11) really didn't want to come but they really enjoyed it and the virtual tour guide made it a great experience. A very happy female car enthusiast!

Elizabeth Barrow

Facebook.co.uk

What an excellent museum/collection and first rate tourist attraction. The outside does not prepare you for the inside!
It’s bright, light and full of interesting exhibits. The audio tour is interesting and engaging and you can can do as much or as little as you wish while taking in all the (many) exhibits as you walk round. Excellent cafe and facilities too. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here today, thank you!

Alex Krill

Facebook.co.uk

Wonderful exhibition of British Cars. All cars in good condition. Very clever hand held laptop / audio player loaded with masses of data and stories issued for free on entry, enabling you to investigate in depth any particular car that you are specifically interested in. Older visitors will enjoy seeing again cars that they once owned. Good Cafe for teas, coffees and light meals. Thoroughly enjoyed the day and will definitely visit again.

Mike P

Google.co.uk

Really enjoyed walking around the cars of yesteryear. The tablet supplied gave great insight and history of them. Some great behind the scenes history and stories. Spent about 2 hours walking round the exhibits, but could spend much more if you wanted to listen to every story on offer. Recommended

David McRoberts

Google.co.uk

Trip Advisor
4.5/5
Google Reviews
4.8/5
Facebook
5/5

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The Great British Car Journey:
Celebrating Britain’s contribution to popular motoring

Over 130 carefully chosen vehicles tell the story of the British motor industry on an interactive journey spanning the last 100 years.

Guided by an audio-visual tablet, visitors will meet the two founding fathers of the industry: Herbert Austin and William Morris, whose vast manufacturing plants in the Midlands produced millions of cars which were exported all over the world. British cars heralded a global transport revolution mobilising billions of people.

Now that era has passed. Cars have since become as reliable and disposable as a domestic appliance, and the industry has become globalised and centred in the East. China is the world’s largest car manufacturer, whilst Japan leads the export race which was once a British preserve. Austin, Morris and many other British brands have long since disappeared. however, they are now experiencing a renaissance in the Derbyshire Dales.

From the legendary Austin Seven to the magnificent Mini, Great British Car Journey tells the fascinating story of engineering, enterprise and endeavour which, for a brief period, saw British cars rule the road.