British Commercial Vehicle Museum

British Commercial Vehicle Museum

British Commercial Vehicle Museum
4.5
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
About
From the bygone days of horse drawn carriages through to the state of the art power trucks you will discover a visually rich array of buses, fire engines, delivery trucks and even a very unique lawnmower.
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  • ed g
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    M6 Junction 28 stopover
    Brilliant place to visit. Lots of great kit on view and a smashing little cafe. A proper "road diner". Great place to stop off from M6 as it is only 10 mins from Junction 28.
    Visited June 2023
    Written June 22, 2023
  • nonsibisedaliis
    Toronto, Canada220 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Well worth a visit!
    I grew up in Leyland when the major industrial companies and employers (Leyland Motors, BTR, Leyland and Birmingham Rubber, Leyland Paints etc) were in the final years of their "pomp", so the museum has personal nostalgia for me! It is an excellently curated historical collection of commercial vehicles which cover the time when Leyland Motors was in business. The exhibits are immaculate and trace the progress made from the early days of commercial vehicle manufacturing. The staff are really helpful, and the cafe has local fare including butter pies, all at reasonable prices. It's not just about commercial vehicles, the displays show how society has changed in the last century so it has that broader appeal to would-be visitors.
    Visited July 2023
    Written July 10, 2023
  • Gustaf_9
    Leicester, United Kingdom99 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very Impressive
    A simply wonderful place to visit if you're in the area. The museum is spotless and all the exhibits are absolutely stunningly restored. Very reasonable family ticket price and a very friendly cafe too. Our grandchildren loved the fire engines nearly as much as me!
    Visited July 2023
    Written July 16, 2023
  • Rebecca F
    Manchester, United Kingdom15 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good experience
    Took grandkids on rainy school holiday day. Good value entry price. Kids could do a find trial that kept them occupied. Great HGV driving experience simulator quiet realistic visuals of the roads in the area. They loved it and had two goā€™s each. But of colouring as well. Learnt lots. Not allot of parking so get there early.
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written August 12, 2023
  • swift-simba
    Camberley, United Kingdom7,401 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great for vintage vehicle enthusiasts
    The day that we went they had a lorry event in the outside car park. This meant that there was a lot to see outside as well as inside the museum. There was a great selection of vintage trucks outside to see. Inside the museum there were a lot of exhibits including lorries , busses, steam, models and engines on display. It is well worth a visit if you are interested in vintage vehicles especially if they have an event on at the time.
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written August 25, 2023
  • WendyPyatt
    Portchester, United Kingdom40 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wow, an amazing museum!
    Wow, we had a fantastic time! It had been on our to do list for quite a while. There are some amazing vehicles, everything from a lawnmower to an artic lorry and all kept immaculately ! I'm 48 but decided to do the children's trail and draw the vehicles I saw, it was fantastic and I now have a new appreciation for the beauty and symmetry of buses and lorries ! Thank you for letting me sit in the fire engine, ring the bell and wear the helmet, that was probably the highlight of my holiday! My husband thoroughly enjoyed himself too!
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 11, 2023
  • MrsAlisonB
    48 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Really informative and educational
    This is not a particularly big museum, but the beautifully preserved vehicles are really interesting, from a 19th century fire tender to the eighties Popemobile. There is information to accompany each exhibit and you can even climb aboard some of them. On site there is a lovely cafe which has an extensive and attractively priced menu. Service there is friendly and the food is tasty. Don't miss it if you are in the area.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 17, 2023
  • HellsMonkey
    Kendal, United Kingdom5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A hidden gem
    A great little gem of a place . We visited the national motor museum earlier in the year and enjoyed this one far more . It was far more engaging for our 3 yr old as well. The cafe is also a great addition as the food is amazing
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 15, 2023
  • Adrian D
    London, United Kingdom22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Well curated collection
    This is a very interesting museum with a large collection of vehicles, artefacts, models and memorabilia. The staff are helpful and well informed. I enjoyed my visit and recommend the museum to anyone with an interest in commercial vehicles. A great day out!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 11, 2023
  • Leyland L
    Preston, United Kingdom218 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Old and modern vehicles tell the history of road transport
    Very interesting museum with some fantastic vehicles on display, including the Popemobile. Plenty of interactive displays for the kids and some of the vehicles are accessible for a closer look. The cafe is always busy and can be entered without paying the admission to the museum, as can the small shop.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 27, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles264 reviews
Excellent
153
Very good
81
Average
21
Poor
8
Terrible
1

Telboy freelance
Southport, UK178 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 ā€¢ Family
Weather was pants,so decided after driving past here regularly I needed to call in and wasn't disappointed.

Parking bit of a nightmare to be honest and limited disabled spaces, also a way a car had parked couldn't get into vacant disabled bay.

On entering a nice polite happy lady gave us our leaflet showing vehicles we could go on and entrance ticket

We decided to go to cafe f8rst and this is the only negative part of the museum, we had to feed our little mam tables were really busy, there were 2 vacant ones which hadn't been cleared because how busy they were , no problem cleared a table. Wife fed little man I ordered food, after being left standing at till for 10 minutes waiting to give order I ordered 3 chip barms and one cheese and ham panini and drinks, was told 40 min wait for food yeh that's fine. About 50 mins later food turned up chips were rock hard , and a panini that had a identity crisis hard crisp and nothing like a panini the food I'd give a 3 the staff though a 10 so was a massive shame.

We then went around the exhibits and enjoyed the history and the presentation also the staff very knowledgeable

Verdict couple of hours is enough, value for money yes food avoid go to tesco cafe around the corner
Written February 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Serena B
Ipswich, UK111 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 ā€¢ Couples
Interesting museum with a wonderful selection of well presented vehicles. The volunteer staff were friendly chatty and helpful as well as knowing the answers to all our questions about the vehicles. Highly recommended
Written February 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kennys92
Lancashire, UK121 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 ā€¢ Family
Good sized museum to take a toddler too. Our toddler described it as ā€˜wowā€™ so he certainly enjoyed looking at the vehicles and getting on some of them.

Itā€™s great that kids go free and is reasonably priced for adults. Cafe was good and is reasonably priced. Thereā€™s also reasonably priced toy vehicles in the gift shop too.
Written January 20, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HappyGirl214
South Wales, UK98 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 ā€¢ Family
We enjoyed this museum with our 2 year old son. He especially enjoyed the miniature railway and tram. We bought a couple of toy vehicles for him in the shop which he loves. Friendly staff in the museum and cafe. Only slight negative is that the cake in the cafe was pretty dry. Overall a nice way to spend an hour or so.
Written November 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marc W
Bracknell, UK135 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 ā€¢ Solo
I've always loved transport and vehicles in general but up until now I'd only visited museums with mostly cars. There aren't many museums for trucks and I think this might be the only one in the UK so I was long overdue a visit.

I wasn't disappointed, although it's not a massive building, it's full of interesting British trucks, buses and vans. From a Leyland truck Popemobile to a Morris Oxford Ice Cream van, the selection of commercial vehicles is varied. Lots of them brought back memories from my childhood like memories of riding on the Bus when I stepped on the Leyland national. In fact I should mention that there are several vehicles which you can climb aboard, including the Leyland bus and the Popemobile mentioned earlier.

The museum does a great job of telling the story of commercial vehicles in the UK including their use and their production. It has examples from Horse drawn days right up to relatively modern trucks plus lots of models and other displays.

The rear of one truck included a small cinema type area showing an interesting film on UK truck production through the years.

It's an entertaining and informative place to visit and I think you'll find yourself interested even if you aren't usually a vehicle enthusiast.

It also has an excellent cafƩ plus the usual gift shop.

I'll definitely be returning one day despite it being nearly four hours from me!
Written November 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Leyland L
Preston, UK218 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 ā€¢ Family
Very interesting museum with some fantastic vehicles on display, including the Popemobile. Plenty of interactive displays for the kids and some of the vehicles are accessible for a closer look.
The cafe is always busy and can be entered without paying the admission to the museum, as can the small shop.
Written November 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rabbit19
Wigan, UK746 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 ā€¢ Family
Visited here with family, was great, my little boy enjoyed exploring and going on the vehicles especially the fire engine, very well maintained in immaculate condition, staff was very friendly and informative, there was a interactive area my little boy liked too, the cafe was good and offered healthier options highly recommend a visit here
Written November 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adrian D
London, UK22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 ā€¢ Solo
This is a very interesting museum with a large collection of vehicles, artefacts, models and memorabilia. The staff are helpful and well informed. I enjoyed my visit and recommend the museum to anyone with an interest in commercial vehicles. A great day out!
Written November 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

William d
3 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 ā€¢ Family
Disapointing. Not as big as it looked on the website, as a petrol hed I went around in just over an hour. Very expensive with no age concession considering the short time to be spent there. Not enough vehicles that allowed you in, possibly because most of the exhibits are privately owned. Nasty Latte in the cafe, cheap beans.
Written November 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HellsMonkey
Kendal, UK5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 ā€¢ Family
A great little gem of a place . We visited the national motor museum earlier in the year and enjoyed this one far more . It was far more engaging for our 3 yr old as well. The cafe is also a great addition as the food is amazing
Written October 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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BRITISH COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MUSEUM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about British Commercial Vehicle Museum

British Commercial Vehicle Museum is open:
  • Thu - Sun 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM


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