Yes, the museum re-opens for the 2022 season this coming Saturday and we are all looking forward to welcoming our first visitors of the year.

What is new, what has changed? Well, on entering the first and largest of our seven galleries there is so much to see. Eighteen cars, vintage caravans, motorcycles, numerous display cases with all sorts of motoring and social memorabilia and of course, Brum, our ever-popular star of children’s TV. It is unlikely therefore that many visitor’s eyes will focus on the floor!

The floor, however, has been our major project during the closed period. The entire gallery was cleared for the old, cracked and lifting tiles to be removed and a new floor laid. Cars were trailered to off-site storage, cabinets were emptied and safely moved away from the gallery. Now everything is back in place and gleaming ready to greet our visitors. It has been a major project which has been made possible through the help of our volunteers – for which we are ever grateful – and our good fortune that neither Covid nor winter weather caused disruption to the very tight timescale.

New to Paved Paradise, our 1970s gallery, is a rare ice cream vendor’s vehicle, powered, not by pedal power but by a motorcycle engine. Complete with its own umbrella it evokes images of those summer days, basking in the warmth of the sun and licking an ice cream cornet.

In Jack Lake’s Garage, we have an immaculate 1930s New Imperial motorcycle. Even if motorcycles are not your thing, it is impossible not to be impressed by the perfect condition of this ninety-year-old machine.

Windrush Alley has its focus on the social history of Bourton, as well as the 1911 Alldays and Onions example of Edwardian motoring at its finest. In the Forge, watch out for the blacksmith and wheelwright, they still like to chat with each other about the ‘new fangled motor cars’ and, of course, the two toy galleries provide endless fascination for children and grown-ups of any age.

Do come and say hello, maybe during this half term, and keep an eye open for events throughout 2022 (Oh, and please at least glance at the floor – it’s really good!). We look forward to seeing you.