Chris Whippet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Bourton-on-the-Water
Cotswold Motoring Museum
A museum of twentieth-century motoring and toys in an eighteenth-century watermill on the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, with seven galleries, over 800 enamel signs and Brum from the children's television series.
Family-friendly · Rainy days · Dog-friendly
Bourton's best rainy-day stop, small enough for young children and nostalgic enough for their grandparents. Dogs are welcome, which is rare for a museum.
- Good: Open daily, 10am to 6pm
- Good: Family ticket £27 (2026)
- Good: Dogs welcome
- Good: Disabled access throughout; SEND bags for neurodiverse visitors
- Worth knowing: No parking listed of its own: use the village car parks
- Worth knowing: No winter closing dates published; ring before a winter visit
About
The Cotswold Motoring Museum fills the Old Mill on Sherborne Street in Bourton-on-the-Water, an eighteenth-century watermill on the River Windrush that worked until 1949. Mike Cavanagh, a collector who had spent 20 years in South Africa, opened it in 1978 with the cars and signs he shipped home, starting from a 1929 Brooklands Riley he bought in 1959 for £30. Since 1999 it has belonged to the motoring club now called Boundless.
Seven galleries cover motoring from the 1920s to the 1970s: cars, motorbikes and caravans, more than 800 enamel signs, and a toy collection. Brum, the little yellow car from the children's television series, lives here; the museum says his screen adventures started and ended in this building.
It opens daily from 10am to 6pm, with last admission at 5.15pm, and publishes no winter closing dates, so ring before a winter visit. Adults pay £9.95, children aged 5 to 16 £6.95 and a family of four £27 (2026); groups arrange visits ahead. Dogs are welcome, and the museum says it has disabled access throughout. Allow an hour or two.
It pairs with the Model Village and Birdland, both a few minutes' walk away, and our guide to the Cotswolds on a rainy day has more indoor ideas.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
Museum and gift shop open daily, 10am to 6pm; last admission 5.15pm. The museum publishes no winter closing dates, so ring 01451 822767 before a visit in winter.
Facilities
- Gift shopOpen with the museum, 10am to 6pm
- Disabled access throughoutRing 01451 821255 about mobility needs
- SEND bagsSoft openings for neurodiverse visitors
- Dogs welcome
The details
- Time to allow
- One to two hours
- Features
- Shop
- History
- Opened 1978 by the collector Mike Cavanagh in the Old Mill
- Parking
- No parking listed of its own; the museum says there are several places to park in the village. The council's Rissington Road car park charges from 10am.
- Without a car
- Kingham station is about 8 miles by road and Moreton-in-Marsh about 9. Buses run to Bourton from Moreton and the main towns; the museum says they are irregular and timetables change with the season.
Photos
The topiary car outside Photo: Rodw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A 1938 Riley in the collection Photo: Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A 1935 Austin taxi Photo: Glen Bowman from Newcastle, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The Lower Mill, Sherborne Street Photo: Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Old Manse Hotel
Inn · Bourton-on-the-Water
A Cotswold-stone inn of 1748 on Victoria Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, with 15 rooms, three of them for dogs, and pub food all day, run by Greene King Inns.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Dial House
Hotel · Bourton-on-the-Water
A hotel with 13 rooms on Bourton-on-the-Water's High Street, five of them designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, with a restaurant, a garden and parking for guests.
Verified Nov 2026
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Chester House Hotel
Hotel · Bourton-on-the-Water
A family-owned hotel with 22 rooms on Victoria Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, with L'Anatra Italian Kitchen, a walled garden, a car park and rooms for small dogs.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Old Manse Hotel 0.1 km away
- The Willow 0.1 km away
- The Duke of Wellington 0.1 km away
- The Dial House 0.1 km away
Sights nearby
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Bourton-on-the-Water war memorial
Sight · Monument · Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water's war memorial is a tall stone cross of 1920 on the green beside the Windrush, raised by the village for its 27 men who died in the First World War, with 12 names added after the Second. Listed Grade II; open at all times.
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Narrow Bridge, Bourton-on-the-Water
Sight · Bridge · Bourton-on-the-Water
Narrow Bridge is the oldest dated of the low stone footbridges over the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, built in 1756 with three rusticated arches and low parapets. Listed Grade II with three of its neighbours, it is crossed free at any time.
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St Lawrence's Church, Bourton-on-the-Water
Sight · Church · Bourton-on-the-Water
St Lawrence's is Bourton-on-the-Water's parish church on the High Street: a chancel of 1328, a Georgian tower of 1784 under a lead dome and a nave taken back to the Gothic style in 1891. Grade II*, open daily from about 10am to 4pm, step-free and dog friendly.
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Salmonsbury Camp
Sight · Hill fort or barrow · Bourton-on-the-Water
Salmonsbury Camp is an Iron Age fortified enclosure of about 23 hectares just east of Bourton-on-the-Water, its double banks still up to 2m high on three sides, with Roman and Saxon finds and a charter of AD 779. A scheduled monument on Greystones Farm reserve.