Get into your car and away from the Christmas mess with our guide
Museums, car meets, a great drive, even banger racing: we’ve got your Christmas week covered in this, our round-up of 12 things to do this Yuletide.
Depending where you live, it ’s well worth visiting the Museum of Land Speed at Pendine Sands, now in a shiny new home, and the new County Classics car museum in Taunton.
The Great British Car Journey in Derbyshire has added Japanese cars to its collection, while London’s Ace Cafe is expecting lots of Porsches.
Our pick? The Jim Clark Trail, where great roads, fabulous views and memories of a world-beating driver combine to make an unforgettable day.
While most racing drivers put their feet up, those who go banger and stock car racing will still be hard at it.
Four days after Christmas, they will be strapping themselves in for the Xmas Cracker event – a full day of races and demolition derbies that you won’t want to miss.
Where: Adrian Flux Arena, King’s Lynn, Norfolk
When: Sunday 29 December
Website: stockcar-racing.co.uk
Duck out of the cold turkey leftovers to enjoy the rare and interesting motors at the annual car meet organised by this award-winning club.
The Tavern does a good bacon sandwich and coffee.
Where: Strawberry Field Tavern, Locks Heath, Hampshire
When: Thursday 26 December, 12.00-2.00pm
Website: locksheathclassiccarclub.co.uk
Get your fix of Porsche cars at this, Europe’s largest and longest-running free event dedicated to the marque and held on the last Monday of every month.
The Ace Cafe, if you didn’t know, is a petrolhead venue that dates from the late 1930s.
Where: Ace Cafe Wembley, London
When: Monday 30 December, from 6.00pm
Website: london.acecafe.com
Situated in the West Midlands, this museum is within relatively easy driving distance for many car enthusiasts keen to escape the Christmas lockdown.
Displays include concepts, sports cars and those dedicated to Jaguar and Land Rover.
Where: British Motor Museum Gaydon, Warwickshire
When: Saturday 28 to Monday 30 December
Website: britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Now a regular fixture on the Christmas calendar, this museum’s Classic Drive & Ride day usually attracts well over 100 vehicles, their owners all competing for the coveted Chairman’s Trophy.
If the cold is too much, pop into the museum, which is packed with exhibits, including a room dedicated to the racing careers and speed records of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell.
Where: Lakeland Motor Museum Ulverston, Cumbria
When: Thursday 26 December, 10.00am-4.00pm
Website: lakelandmotormuseum.co.uk
Enjoy the Jim Clark Museum’s specially devised road trip along routes the Formula 1 great loved and where he honed his world-beating talent.
Starting at the museum at Duns, head west via Chirnside, where Clark is buried, to Berwick-upon-Tweed, where his motorsport career began. From there, head east to Winfield air field, host of Scot land’s first-ever motor race, then on to Charterhall airfield, where Clark won his first race in Scotland.
Where: Jim Clark Trust Duns, Berwickshire
Website: jimclarktrust.com
Opened this year, County Classics is home to one man’s amazing collection of more than 100 cars spanning the 1960s to 1980s. “I’m obsessed,” says Pat Hawkins, the museum’s founder.
The local businessman has ploughed millions of pounds into it. Displays include fast Fords, British family motors, race cars and military vehicles.
Where: County Classics Museum Taunton, Somerset
When: Friday 27 to Saturday 28 and Tuesday 31 December, 9.00am-4.30pm
Website: countyclassicsmotormuseum.co.uk
Launched this year, the museum’s occasional Quiet Hours events are for neurodivergent visitors to enjoy the museum free of the usual hustle and bustle.
They last just one hour before the doors open to everyone but are the perfect way to give someone the peace and quiet they need to soak up Brooklands’ astonishing exhibits and displays.
Where: Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey
When: Saturday 28 December, 9.00am -10.00am
Website: brooklandsmuseum.com
Even if you’ve already been to Mercedes’ Brooklands showroom, there’s always the latest models to gawp at, plus a chance to catch the 130 years of Mercedes motorsport exhibition before it closes in February.
Then, if your stomach will stand it, book a drive in a Mercedes-AMG C63 or E63 with an experienced driver by your side.
Where: Mercedes-Benz World Weybridge, Surrey
When: Friday 27 to Tuesday 31 December, 10.00am-5.00 pm
Website: mercedes-benzworld.co.uk
As of 2024, this venue dedicated to British cars of yesteryear now includes Toyotas in recognition of the fact that, over the past 30 years, five million have rolled off the firm’s production lines in Burnaston, Derbyshire (their engines are made in North Wales).
The new display includes the first Toyota produced by the UK factory (a Carina E), a Corolla and a BTCC race-winning Avensis.
Where: Great British Car Journey Ambergate, Derbyshire Saturday
When: 28 December, 9.30am-3.00pm
Website: greatbritishcarjourney.com
Founder of the eponymous car manuals library, John Haynes was also an avid collector of cars. British cars, American cars, Italian cars, even a room dedicated to red cars: they’re all here in his wonderful West Country museum.
For the Christmas period, the kids will be kept amused with a ‘hunt the elves’ competition while you check out the Hall of Motorsport.
Where: Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset
When: Friday 27 to Tuesday 31 December, 10.00am-4.30 pm
Website: haynesmuseum.org
If the Lakeland Motor Museum has whetted your appetite for record breakers, then visit this recently opened museum on Wales’s famous seven-mile beach.
One hundred years ago this year, Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record on the Sands with a speed of 146.16mph in his 350hp Sunbeam V12 that he called Blue Bird. Two years later, JG Parry-Thomas achieved 171.02mph in Babs, a car powered by a 450hp, 27-litre aero engine. The following year, 1927, Campbell returned to record 174.22mph in Blue Bird II. Parry-Thomas attempted to regain the record but was killed and his car buried in the Sands. In 1969, it was reclaimed and restored, and it’s occasionally driven in public.
Where: Museum of Land Speed Records, Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire
When: Friday 27 to Sunday 29 and Tuesday 31 December (opening times vary)
Website: cofgar.wales
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