Planes, trains, automobiles and a rocket or two!
The Midlands has a fabulous transport heritage and it also boasts some wonderful museums. Here are some of the best for trains, planes, automobiles and even rockets...
Motorbikes and cars are an important part of the history of the Midlands. And the region boasts some of the very best museums dedicated to all forms of transport which are well worth a visit for the whole family.
What is more, some of them are completely free.
Here is a guide to some of the best transport museums in the region.
British Motor Museum, Gaydon
The venue says it hosts the world’s largest collection of historic British cars.
There are over 300 classic cars for you to explore from both the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust, plus free tours and interactive family activities so there is plenty to keep everyone entertained.
The family-friendly museum offers a colourful insight into the British motor industry – from the popular Time Road to the Under the Skin interactive zone, adults and children alike will find displays and exhibits to surprise and enlighten.
From its earliest days the British motor industry has been a vital part of the economy and the lives of people living in the Midlands and it is still a hub for automotive creativity today.
The museum tells the story of the birth, decline and rebirth of the motor industry and the cars it produced, as well as celebrating the skills and creativity of the people who designed and built them.
Walk along the Time Road, a century of motoring history beginning in 1896 and experience how motoring has changed: the roads, the cars and even the fashions.
Discover when Cat’s Eyes were first introduced, when the first driving test was taken and where the first motorway was built.
Watch out for costumed explainer, Lady Edwards, who will help you imagine motoring in the early days of the car.
It is not just a story of factories and machines. It is very personal history, featuring the many thousands of people who have worked in the industry. Brought to life by archive images and moving film, Making
British Cars charts the ever changing scenes of working life, fashion, wellbeing and social times for those that have been and still are involved in building cars in Britain.
National Motorcycle Museum, near the NEC in Birmingham
The National Motorcycle Museum is recognised as the finest and largest British motorcycle museum in the world and originally opened its doors in October 1984 with a collection of 350 motorcycles on display.
The museum owes its formation to the drive and ambition of one man, Mr WR (Roy) Richards. Roy passed away in 2008 but his work continues under the guardianship of Roy’s widow Christine and sons Simon and Nick with the museum collection now boasting some 1,000 plus machines, fully restored to the manufacturers’ original specifications.
The centre attracts around 250,000 visitors a year.
One of the biggest attractions for many guests is the comprehensive cross-section of British machines, spanning the “60 Glorious Year” of motorcycle manufacturing in this country. The museum’s aim is to preserve these pieces of history for future generations to come, as a reminder of this great nations industry, engineering prowess and work ethic.
Triumph Visitor Experience, Hinckley
So much more than just a motorcycle museum, the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience tells the whole story of why people ride by bringing together a spectacular collection of historic and modern achievements in motorcycle design, engineering, racing and popular culture.
As well as showcasing legendary iconic motorcycles from Triumph’s long and impressive history, this free Triumph exhibition also highlights the amazing engineering technology that makes Triumph the worldclass motorcycle manufacturer that it is today.
Get closer than ever before to the people, the bikes, and the moments that made Triumph arguably the world’s most iconic motorcycle brand; from the pioneers and the vintage bikes that started it all, through the rock n roll era, right up to Hinckley’s modern legends.
Triumphs ridden by Steve McQueen, David Beckham and Tom Cruise are among the priceless collection of models on display – alongside land speed record holders from the 1960s and the very latest custom designs.
The new display includes the actual bike – a fully restored 650cc Triumph TR6R – ridden by Steve McQueen in The Great Escape as well as the Speed Triple used by Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, and a one-off Scrambler which Chris Pratt used to outrun deadly velociraptors in Jurassic World.
Spread over two floors, the visitor experience tells the story of the motorbike maker – from the very first pre-war bikes and post-war models inspired by the American dream to the modern classics such as the Bobber, Thruxton and Speed Triple rolling off the Leicestershire production line today.
Coventry Transport Museum, Coventry City Centre
At the world’s largest display of British-made transport, there are more than 190 cars, 75 motorcycles and 200 cycles are on show.
Coventry Transport Museum is one of the hidden gems of the Midlands. It has been around for many years and has just undergone a major renovation.
Better-known exhibitions include a 3,000-strong model collection and the chance to see speed demons Thrust SSC and Thrust 2 in the flesh.
The museum tells the tale of how technology has changed and influenced the motor industry from day one, and has also teamed up with Coventry and Warwick universities to show what the future has to offer.
Among the displays is the shell of a Jaguar F-Type, the chance to see the under-carriage of a car from yesteryear and detailed models of the vehicles we could eventually soon see on our roads.
National Space Centre, Leicester
The National Space Centre is a museum and educational resource covering the fields of space science and astronomy, along with a space research programme in partnership with the University of Leicester.
The centre has a unique 3D simulator experience and an iconic 42m high rocket tower.
It also boasts the UK’s largest planetarium and six interactive galleries.
The building was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw, and it opened to the public on June 30 2001.
The tower is 42 m (138 ft) tall and claims to be the only place to house upright space rockets indoors.
The centre has on display one of only three known Soyuz spacecraft in the West.
The centre has six main galleries of exhibits and visitor activities covering space flight, astronomy and cosmology. The attraction also includes a Digistar 3 dome cinema and planetarium, a gift shop and a restaurant. The restaurant is situated beneath the two nozzles of the Blue Streak and PGM-17 Thor rockets.
The centre hosted a celebration of 50 years of Doctor Who in November 2013.
The Aeropark, East Midlands Airport
In the shadow of East Midlands Airport, near Castle Donington, is this museum and viewing area where you can study the aeronautical technology of yesteryear, or just watch the modern jets of today landing and taking off.
It’s run by volunteers.
There’s also the Airport Trail sculpture walk around the airport’s perimeter to explore.
Location: Hill Top, Castle Donington, Leicestershire DE74 2PR
Think Tank, Birminghm
This museum is in the centre of Birmingham and is a great way to spend a day with the family.
It offers loads for families to explore, from the Spitfire Gallery with its war planes and other forms of aviation as well as a Planetarium.
There are steam engines, talking robots and a chocolate wrapping machine over the four floors of inspiring hands-on exhibits.
Royal Airforce Museum, Cosford, Shifnal
Another fabulous and free day out is a trip to RAF Cosford.
Explore more than 70 aircraft on display at this special museum, which is very child-friendly.
There’s also tanks, cars, a folding motorbike from the Second World War and an exciting 4D experience where you get to be an airfighter or take part in a ravine race.
Kids can see Roland Rat and Percy the Penguin, there are touch screen kiosks to bring history to life and a high level viewing gallery to look down on the mighty Belfast Transporter.
There is also the 1:1 scale Airfix Spitfire featured on the James May Toy Stories series shown on BBC2 which is something the older kids, and adults, might enjoy.
Great Central Railway and museum, Ruddington Nottinghamshire
The Great Central Railway (Nottingham) (formerly known as Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre) is a heritage railway and transport museum on the south side of the village of Ruddington.
The route consists of almost 10 miles (16 km) of the former Great Central Railway Main Line from Loughborough South Junction (with the Midland Main Line) to Fifty Steps Bridge and the site of Ruddington’s former GCR station, plus a branch line from Fifty Steps Bridge to Ruddington Fields station which is located on a former Ministry of Defence site next to Rushcliffe Country Park.
There are stations open to the public at Ruddington Fields (within the main centre site) and at Rushcliffe Halt. The GCR(N) aim to reopen the former station at East Leake in the longer term.
The railway is currently not connected to Great Central Railway (at Loughborough Central in Leicestershire), although there are plans well underway and work has started to reunite the two preserved lines.
This is a major engineering project that is expected to be completed during 2024 - 2028. Some 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the line is used by gypsum trains serving the British Gypsum works at East Leake.
Newark Air Museum
The air museum is located on part of the former World War Two airfield of RAF Winthorpe.
The diverse collection of aircraft and cockpit sections covers the history of aviation; the aircraft on display include 13 National Benchmark aircraft; 34 Significant aircraft and 21 Noteworthy aircraft as listed in the National Aviation Heritage Register. Nearly two thirds of the exhibits are now displayed inside.
In addition to the aircraft the museum displays a diverse display of aviation artefacts and a collection of more than thirty five aero engines.
Midland Air Museum, Coventry
The Midland Air Museum as it is today represents many years of dedicated commitment by volunteers and staff who have helped to establish one of the country’s leading self-funded independent aviation museums.
The Midland Air Museum is a unique aeronautical collection. Started in 1967 by a small group of local aircraft enthusiasts as the Midland Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPS), they started to collect books, photographs and aircraft parts.
The museum includes the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre (named after the local aviation pioneer and inventor of the jet engine), where many exhibits are on display in a large hangar. It also has a small hangar, and a fenced-off green area where many aircraft are on display in the open.
The museum’s two largest aircraft are an Avro Vulcan B.2 and an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy AW.650 (series 101).
The restored Avro Vulcan is a delta-winged aircraft that was originally part of the V bomber force and could be equipped with nuclear missiles as part of Britain’s role in NATO’s nuclear deterrent force during the Cold War.
It is on display near the museum’s car park, together with an Avro Blue Steel missile, an early design format of such a nuclear missile, and a Boulton Paul BP.111A, an experimental delta-winged aircraft of the 1950s.