Cotswold Motoring Museum

The Cotswold Motoring Museum sits in Bourton-on-the-Water, a stone-built village in the Cotswolds where the River Windrush winds through the centre. It occupies a single building filled with motoring objects from the 20th century. Cars, motorcycles, bicycles and caravans share shelves with tin toys and model kits. The museum was started in 1978 by Mike Cavanagh, a local car collector who later appeared in the children’s TV series Brum. In 1999 the Civil Service Motoring Association took over and still runs the museum today. Brum, the small front-wheel-drive character, is displayed in the first two series and appears in the opening and closing titles of the show. Visitors find Brum’s bright red car parked inside the museum. Pedal cars and tin toys line the lower cases, while upstairs larger vehicles stand on polished floors. The building itself is part of the village’s quiet streets, a short walk from the river and its stone bridges.