This is a great museum for both adults and children. It is just a few minutes from junction 3 on the M42 and has plenty of free parking. It has a mixture of outside and several indoor exhibits. The first thing you notice as you enter is a long line of immaculate buses to your right. These are mostly in running order and some do run on special event days. Slightly to the left is the entrance into the main hall with its buses of all ages plus a couple of ancient fire engines and some electric vehicles such as milk floats. Here also are the boards with explanations about these buses as well as general transport interest.
As well as this there is another large inside area with even more buses and electric vehicles and another indoor area where more restoration work is taking place. We were shown some of the work which is being done – mainly by volunteers and to an incredibly high standard. Sitting in one of the old vehicles I realised how much more legroom there was compared to a modern bus or coach. I suppose every new batch of vehicles has just an inch or two less than the previous ones and until you sit in an old one you do not realise how much has been lost. Everyone there was pleased to tell you about the vehicles and the work which is being done to restore them. The website, if anyone wishes to find out more about the museum, its opening hours etc and the big event days, is www.wythall.org.uk and entrance is £3 or £8 for a family on a normal day. They also have a café, shop, toilets and a small children’s play area.
We knew nothing about the museum before our visit but saw it was near the motorway and, having an hour or so to spare, diverted and spent an entertaining couple of hours there. As we visited on a Saturday there was also a miniature steam railway running on the same site giving rides to anyone who wanted.
We were very pleased with our detour and would definitely recommend a visit to anyone interested in our transport history.
