10 Best Museums in the Cotswolds

The Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection is a unique walk back through the 20th century, viewed through the history of toys and transportation of all sorts. Here you’ll see a vast collection of motoring memorabilia, including many historic vehicles from cars to antique motorcycles and caravans, but also advertising art and signage. You’ll get to examine curiosities like service station machinery, tools and auto parts. Kids will thrill to see Brum, the little superhero car associated with the museum, up close and in person.

The museum also showcases a broad collection of antique toys, knitted swimsuits, old radios and gramophones, and even picnic sets from the 20s. It’s located in the village of Bourton-on-the-Water.

National Trust – Showshill Manor and Garden offers a chance to walk through elegant formal gardens and tour a manor house from centuries ago dedicated to architect Charles Paget Wade. This house and museum showcase the lifelong collection of Wade, and every room is still furnished exactly as it was when he lived here. The staff are experts eager to tell you the facts, history and anecdotes about the rooms and the items within. You can even visit a costume area where you can try on period fashion.

When the weather is nice, the gardens are vibrant with rolling green space and colourful flowers, a perfect place to relax and reflect. It’s located in Broadway.

Cogges Manor Farm is a place of staggering beauty and a unique heritage site offering a fascinating story, an authentic manor house, and adjacent buildings and gardens. This living farm provides not only a museum in the house itself which is authentically furnished as it was hundreds of years ago but a working farm and a woodland adventure play area where kids can run, jump, swing and climb all day long. They can pet Shetland ponies, Cotswold sheep, pigs, goats, and even chickens and ducks.

For the littlest ones, a toddler play area can be found by the cafe onsite. Regular plays, festivals and events are held here as well. It’s located in Whitney, Oxfordshire.

The Corinium Museum in Cirencester is a hidden gem of the Cotswolds that showcases the entire region's history from prehistory to the Victorian era. The museum has many hands-on exhibits to spark the interest and creativity of kids, as well as interactive displays and artefacts, documents and ephemera that were found in archaeological digs and ruins throughout the Cotswolds region.

The principal collection focuses on the Roman era when Cirencester was called Corinium. While not all are on display, the collection comprises more than 1.5 million artefacts. This is a unique opportunity to explore the Roman heritage of the area and walk back to when Corinium was the second biggest Roman town outside of London.

Nature in Art is a museum and art gallery dedicated to presenting artwork inspired by nature regardless of its form, style or media. It is operated by the Nature in Art Trust and has been granted special commendations twice in the National Heritage Museum of the Year Awards. Its collection includes works by such famed nature artists as George Edward Lodge, Eric Ennion, Archibald Thorburn, Charles Tunnicliffe and David Shepherd. It also includes artists less known for their nature works but still significant, such as Pablo Picasso.

It also houses regular rotating exhibitions of visiting and loaned works, including single-artist displays and the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. It’s located in Twigworth, Gloucester.

Museum in the Park is set among the Stroud area's gorgeous countryside, offering a landmark art experience for the entire family as you explore thousands of unique objects. Among the artefacts on display here include dinosaur fossils, historical paintings and even one of the oldest lawnmowers in the world. The collection comprises over 4,000 artefacts and is sure to have something to spark everyone’s interest.

Much of the art can be found in a historic mansion, which also has a modern expansion with a gift shop and a cafe to buy a souvenir and grab a bite to eat. The formal gallery showcases a varied selection of rotating exhibits. In the rear, you can explore a Secret Garden.

The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum has a wide range of Arts and Crafts Movement pieces, almost entirely donated by the people of Cheltenham. The museum began with an 1898 donation from Baron de Ferrieres of 43 artworks and paintings plus 1,000 pounds with a request to use it to open a gallery. Since then, the tradition of donation has seen thousands of works given to the museum by local residents.

The collection primarily relates to the city and includes a range of fine art, including Baron de Ferrieres' collection of original Dutch and Belgian paintings. It was formerly known as the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum.

The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock is a hidden gem of the Cotswolds with 3 floors of displays in the historic Fletcher House building that contain a wealth of local history. The building dates to the 16th century when it served as a merchant's home. The exhibits include many interactive displays that allow you to get hands-on with the history and will make you feel like you are walking back in time.

It’s a thrilling and family-friendly exhibition where you’ll get to see natural history, the development of the community and how local people lived hundreds of years before. The museum also offers a garden coffee shop with refreshments in the quaint market town.

The National Waterways Museum Gloucester is a destination along scenic docks dotted with designer shops and hip cafes. It showcases over 200 years of local history. The museum is in an old, renovated Grade II warehouse that offers a wide range of interactive exhibits that allow the entire family to explore history hands-on and have fun doing it. The collection charts the history of the docks and the importance of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.

The institute also hosts an onsite cafe for light meals and refreshments and a gift shop where you can purchase unique gifts and souvenirs. It’s also just steps from one of Gloucester’s most vibrant shopping districts.

The Jet Age Museum is an all-volunteer, registered charity organisation dedicated to preserving the aviation heritage of Gloucestershire, where it’s located. This museum examines the history of the Gloucester Aircraft Company and the first historic Allied jet flight. The hangar showcases historic aircraft you can explore, touch, and board. Kids always thrill to the opportunity to actually sit in the cockpit of a World War II fighter plane, and adults love it as well.

While the tours of the larger planes are ticketed to keep crowds down, admission to the museum is free. The expert staff are eager to tell you stories of the aircraft on display.