Take a trip down memory lane ... at the wheel of Dad’s car

Anyone of a certain age might remember piling into the back of their parents’ old banger and heading off for a day at the seaside, or a run to the swanky new shopping centre.

Cars such as the Austin 7, Morris Minor, Mini and Ford Escort were the backbone of British motoring before the rise of foreign imports, their back seats full of bickering siblings, while up front the adults tried to coax the car into getting to its planned destination.

Now they will be able to relive those childhood experiences with the chance to “drive mum and dad’s car” at a museum of vintage British vehicles.

The collection is the brainchild of entrepreneur Richard Usher, who has devoted the past four years to buying and restoring more than 160 old and much-loved cars for display.

The Great British Car Journey, which opens on May 22, will tell the story of British car design and production from 1922, when Herbert Austin produced the Austin Seven as the first car accessible to ordinary families, to the present day.

Alongside the display at a converted wire factory in Derbyshire will be a separate Drive Dad’s Car attraction, allowing visitors to drive one of 32 period cars around a private circuit on the banks of the river Derwent, giving them the opportunity to revisit their early experiences of family motoring.

“Our cars changed the world and remain iconic to this day,” said Mr Usher. “They were distinctive in their design and, love them or loathe them, simply getting behind the wheels of these cars evokes a wave of nostalgia.

“Our visitors can expect to find a manual choke, a manual gearbox, wind up or sliding windows, wind open sunroof and fixed seatbelts – if any. You’ll have less power than most modern cars and the brakes and steering will require more effort. There’ll be no climate control, no sat nav, no power steering or airbags. In fact no frills at all, but plenty of thrills and nostalgia.”

Mr Usher, who part-owns Auto Windscreens and set up the Blyton Park car racing circuit, began his quest to tell the story of British family motoring in 2017, when he learnt that Jaguar had bought one of the largest private car collections for its own heritage division.

After buying around 50 of the collection’s non-Jaguar models, Mr Usher began scouring auction sites and private owners in order to build a chronological history of British cars.

The first car visitors to the Great British Car Journey will see is an Austin 7, the car launched in 1923 by Herbert Austin in a bid to stave off bankruptcy and which went on to become the first car within reach of working people.

The Austin 7 on display was originally bought in 1926 by Rhoda Gertrude Edwards, a district nurse and midwife in Newbury, Berks, who used it until she retired, having clocked up 30,000 miles visiting her patients.

In a letter to a subsequent owner, enclosing a brief history of her car, Miss Edwards wrote: “When I bought the car, he was elephant grey. I gave him the name of Jumbo, especially as many of my family had travelled in India.

“I am afraid this little diary I send you is rather muddled and untidy – I was so very busy nursing and bringing babies into the world and cheering wives whose men were away fighting.”

Also in the display will be the Humber Hawke estate bought by the judge who presided over the 1966 trial of the Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Sir Fenton Atkinson bought the vehicle in 1967 and employed a chauffeur to ferry him around until his death in 1980.

Mr Usher said: “We chart the rise and demise of an industry which was once vital to our economy. The heroes of the journey are the cars, not a random selection of old vehicles, but a carefully chosen selection of cars made in Britain which changed the world for good.”