Continuing our series of favourite places to visit, this month we’re going to take a look at some of our favourite museums to visit here in Somerset.
Haynes Motor Museum, Yeovil
Haynes Motor Museum was created in order to house the wonderful collection of vehicles, automobilia, library and archive first established by John Haynes OBE in 1985.
The Museum is home to the UK’s largest exhibition of cars and motorbikes dating from 1898 right up to the present day. Housed within 15 exhibition areas, the vast collection spans everything from the birth of motoring and nostalgic classics of the 50s and 60s to glorious Bentleys and Rolls-Royces and stunning supercars of modern day.
Highlights include the famous Red Room, the Veteran and Vintage collection and The American Dream Hall, containing everything from a Duesenberg Model J to a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
This museum is an absolute must for motoring enthusiasts of all ages.
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum, Ilchester
With four exhibition halls, over 90 aircraft, more than 2,000,000 records, and 30,000 artefacts, the museum is Europe's largest naval aviation museum.
You can step inside the first British Concorde and experience the thrills of a working flight deck, then witness a dramatic air-sea rescue on the award-winning Aircraft Carrier Experience and Barracuda Live: The Big Rebuild. You can discover a huge range of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft exhibits, some of which date back over 100 years.
And, if the British weather is at all unpredictable, the museum is a perfect all-weather venue meaning you’re guaranteed a unique and unforgettable experience at any time of the year.
American Museum & Gardens, Bath
Located in a gorgeous setting outside the city of Bath, the American Museum and Gardens was created by an Anglo-American couple and opened to the public in 1961 with the ambition to showcase American decorative arts and dispel stereotypes of American culture.
In the Grade 1 listed museum you can visit room sets that recreate periods of American history discovering art, fabric and furniture of the era.
In the exhibition gallery you’ll find the shop selling a range of unique American products as well as temporary exhibitions showcasing American culture including music, travel, photography and fashion.
There are 125 acres of gardens to explore including a dell, an arboretum, amphitheatre and children’s garden along with a wilderness trail and parklands for further exploration.
In the stables and coach house you’ll find a range of activities and crafts for families to enjoy and don’t forget to leave time for the American Garden Deli. Sit on the terrace and enjoy the panoramic views over the Limpley Stoke Valley, whilst experiencing homemade American inspired food and drink using, wherever possible, produce grown in the gardens.