Recently I have been to a number of transport related museums and enjoyed using them as an excuse to get out and about on two wheels. Well, I have another one for you to check out. The Oakham Treasures collection is located not too far from Bristol and junction 19 of the M5. Although I suggest you pick a more interesting road to get there!
It has a Cafe!
The collection has a large café attached and you can use that without paying the £10 to get in the museum itself. Although it would seem a waste not to. The collection is genuinely astonishing: There are two halls packed with re-creations of old retail shops or crammed with artefacts from would seems to most the first half of the 20th century.
Just one of literally hundreds of signs
From hardware stores, chemists, old workshops, general stores etc, everything is represented. There is also extensive collection of tractors spanning the 1930’s-70’s , if that floats your boat. I like them; my old man used to drive an old Fordson when he was a kid back in Ireland.
Onto the Bikes
The hall with the bike collection is adjacent to the tractors. There are a few nice cars in there too and about 20 of so bikes are on parade, so to speak. All the bikes are British, but a couple of Italian scooters add an exotic touch. Dating from the 1920’s to the 60’s in the main and all of them are in great condition, well maintained and sparkling. This not always the case in museums sadly.
It took us over an hour to get to the bikes, there is a lot to see here
The pair of AA bikes were good to see. Whilst I don’t remember them being in service personally. They were using Mini and Marina vans by the time that I started biking in the 1980’s. I wish the Police were sill using the prim little BSA that was in plod spec on show. Not as bad as the slightly comical Velocette LE ‘Noddy Bikes’ some forces foisted on their riders, but not far off!
Neat AA pairing and good to see all the related bits and bobs too
I wish the Boys in Blue were riding these now!
It’s always good to see motorcycles preserved. Now as I age and head towards my sixties, I find myself increasing drawn to older machines. I was dismissive of them as I roared around on my RD350YPVS back in the day! My appreciation of British bikes of the 50s/60s and 70s has really grown. I can see myself buying on at this rate. My recent acquisition of a new Royal Enfield 650 twin shows the way I am headed.
A selection of the bikes on display
Douglas flat-twins always catch my eye (I have a R1200RS BMW), they are such pretty bikes: Delicate even. There were a couple of ‘flat-tankers’ too. They look so cool, I bet they were demanding to ride. One of them of was a Royal Enfield, which serves to illustrate the lineage of the now Indian owned brand.
A couple of the older bikes in the collection, a Douglas and a Royal Enfield
So, there we have it, another destination for you. I hope you found it as interesting as I did.
Words and Pictures: Tony Donnelly
More details about Oakham Treasures can be found here