The Wallace and Gromit van part of motor history (From Tewkesbury Admag)

The Wallace and Gromit van part of motor history

WITH a new psychedelic Sixties display, Cotswold Motoring Museum's wheels are, like the Julie Driscoll song, on fire for the new season.

But it was a song by Joni Mitchell that inspired the new flower power show at the museum in Bourton.

The Paved Paradise was so named for a line in her song Big Yellow Taxi and it brings back memories of the lifestyles of the 60s and 70s with cars - including a mini of course - caravans, picnic sets and psychedelic fashion and decoration, all set to a soundtrack from the era.

More up to the minute, and a crowd pleaser for younger visitors, is the Anti-Pesto truck as driven by Wallace and Gromit in the recent Curse of the Were-Rabbit big screen adventure.

The promotional vehicle is on display until May 27 in the new guest car showroom, after which the museum will display another 60s throwback -from the Who film Quadraphenia.

The contrast sums up the museum's wide range of appeal - to youngsters, even toddlers since it is the home of little yellow TV star Brum, their parents and even grandparents.

For those fascinated by motoring through the last century, exhibits go back as far as a 1867 boneshaker cycle, a penny farthing, and a 1910 Model T Ford on loan from the Ford Motor Company's British Collection. The Ford is green and worth a mint, and the fact that the museum was loaned it illustrates how highly the venue is rated among those organisations and people dedicated to motoring history.

You don't just see cars at Bourton, you see them in settings which evoke the lifestyles of the time. Every bit of floor space and ceiling space, and the walls too, are crammed with exhibits ranging from ancient signs to gadgets, household items, fashions, foodstuffs, even ancient shop windows with apothecary and perfume bottles. The television series Flog It! would have a field day let loose in here. Dusting it all must be a labour of love.

Some of the motoring exhibits are very valuable indeed - the 1938 BMW, for example, and the Jaguar XK140 and the Alvis Speed Twenty which dates back to 1932.

For motorcycle fans, there is a Brough Superior, the superbike of its day, which was nicknamed the widowmaker because so many riders came to grief. Sporty fans have the Motorsport gallery which features a 1964 MG 1100 and bikes which took part in the days of motorcycle football.

Museum manager Michael Tambini, who arrived in Bourton from the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, is a true classic car fan, having owned memorable models such as the Hillman Super Minx, Mini, VW Beetle, and Jaguar XJ40.

"I just love the social history aspect of cars and transport," he said. "The effect of motoring on humanity has been fantastic, but now we are recognising there are downsides too.

"The Joni Mitchell song in which the line 'they paved paradise and put up a parking lot' shows that they recognised this as far back as the Sixties."

The museum itself dates back to March 1999 when the former mill - you can still see the old stone wheels - was bought by the Civil Service Motoring Association to house its collection. This has been vastly added to over the years.

It now attracts more than 65,000 visitors a year and is expecting to notch up its 500,000th visitor by the end of this season. That'll be another piece of history then.