Haynes Motor Museum

I have been intending to visit The Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford for many years and have finally made achieved my goal. The museum was opened in 1985 with a collection of 29 cars owned by the founder John H. Haynes OBE. A new purpose-built building was completed in 2014 and the museum now houses over 400 cars and motorcycles. The Haynes family is the one and the same as those famous publishers of Haynes car manuals that enable you to know how to repair your car.

If you're a car enthusiast a visit to the Haynes Motor Museum should be high up on your agenda of places to go. The car collection has some really early models right through to some recent classics, and the policy is to keep the cars wherever possible in working order.

The Red Room

The Red Room has a wonderful collection of cars that are, as the name suggests, in their original red paint. There is something special about red cars and this collection comprises many marques including Austin Healey, Jaguar, Ferrari, Ford, MG, Marcos, Rochdale to name but a few.

The American Dream

Here is a superb collection of American cars and I loved seeing a 'Woody' up close. It looks like all the main American classics are here to see.

Custom & Bespoke

In this section, there is a good display of vehicles that have been customised.

Memory Lane

This hall has those famous British classics many of which I remember from my childhood in the 1960s as the older vehicles were still on the road back then. There are plenty of cars from the 1940s through to the 1970s in Memory Lane. One of my favourite cars of that era is the Ford MK1 Cortina a real classic in my opinion.

Hall of Motorsport

Here in this section of the museum is a collection of racing cars.

Minis and Micros

Don't forget to take a look at the gas-saving cars that have been produced such as of course the famous Mini and other microcars from years gone by.

There is so much to see at the Haynes Motor Museum and I was pleased to get up close and personal in the Ferrari section with my all-time favourite, the Ferrari 250. These are sited close to the other prestige cars like Rolls Royce, Bristol and Bentley's. If you like Lotus cars there is also a collection of yellow ones that you must see.

Lotus Cars

Motorcycle enthusiasts can also enjoy this museum as there is a section dedicated to them.

I haven't mentioned everything that the museum offers so here is a link to the website for you to find out more. There is also plenty for children to do so parents you can take your young ones there and keep them occupied, including the games room and adventure playground.

As you can tell I really enjoyed my visit to the Haynes Motor Museum and when you visit your ticket allows you to visit as often as you like with the next 12 months.