Great British Car Journey opens its doors

The UK’s newest visitor attraction, Great British Car Journey, has finally opened its doors. The attraction is packed with British marques and models that have commanded the roads for nearly 100 years.

Classics that hold a special place in all our hearts, like the Morris Minor, Ford Capri, and everything before, after and in between, which have become increasingly rare over the years will be on show. Great British Car Journey has more than 130 vehicles for you to long over on the banks of the River Derwent in Derbyshire. 

Richard Usher, CEO of Great British Car Journey, together with four private investors, started collecting one of the largest privately owned collections of British designed and manufactured cars in the UK.

Richard explained, “Four years ago, when I owned and managed Blyton Circuit, a gentleman approached me asking if I’d like to buy his 1989 Austin Maestro in mint condition with just 10,000 miles on the clock. My first thought was ‘no’, but it then got me thinking about when I last saw an Austin Allegro, Metro, original Mini, or even a Ford Cortina on the road. These were cars that were once on virtually every street in Britain and sold in their millions.”

He continued, “I really wanted the cars to tell a story, so the journey charts the growth of car ownership from Austin’s Seven to the present day.”

“It has a motor show feel with cars grouped in the decades – or chapters - in which they were produced. The vehicles are easily accessible too. We want people to smell the old car smell, marvel at the interiors and jog memories of trips in the family car, their first car or back seat fights with their siblings when they were growing up. Great British Car Journey is the ultimate trip down Memory Lane.”

When you visit the Great British Car Journey, an audio handheld device will guide visitors around the exhibition and tell a fascinating story all about the classics as well as informative and interesting facts about the UK motor industry.

What’s more, at least 30 of the vehicles can be driven on private roads as part of the Drive Dad’s Car Experience, including the Maestro that started it all.

All the vehicles in both the exhibition and Drive Dad’s Car experience are in working order and fully maintained by Great British Car Journey’s own time-served technician and apprentice. Visitors are welcome to watch them at work in the onsite workshop within the exhibition hall. 

“Great British Car Journey is very much a working attraction. We have a large collection of well-thumbed Haynes manuals which are regularly consulted when we need to locate a bonnet catch or various engine parts to ensure the maintenance of the collection,” added Mr Usher.

To find out more information about the vehicles on show, or to book tickets, please visit: www.greatbritishcarjourney.com