Lotus CTL & Factory Tours?

[My S1]

Has anyone actually been to the Lotus works in Hethel?  Have you toured the Classic Team Lotus works and Factory?  I am trying to understand the difference between the two facilities.  Do they each have their own museum or is there one museum on Potash Lane that may be visited without doing the individual CTL and Factory tours?

Also hoping to visit the Jim Clark Museum in Duns.  On the internet it appears to be just two cars, trophies and some photographs.  Is it worth the journey up north?

[SwiftDB4]

I did the factory tour/ CTL last May. Neither has a museum as such. The factory tours come in 2 varieties. You can do just the factory or a combination factory with 1 hr. at CTL. There are also just CTL tours on select Saturdays. The factory tours cost a lot more, but are offered more frequently. CTL has no 'museum' as such, but there are at least 30 historical race cars undergoing restoration or are owned by CTL. They range from a Mk1 reproduction to the last 1990's Formula 1 cars. Wide range of 1960's F1 cars, the type 56B turbine F1 car, 1950's sports racers, and JPS Andretti/ Peterson cars. CTL also has a well stocked gift shop. You cannot see the cars without a tour.
As far as the Jim Clark Museum at Duns I haven't been there since 2011. They have since enlarged the facility. Most of the display is trophies and photos. If you're close to Scotland or are a Clark fanatic it's worth seeing. If your trip is further south in England maybe not.

[My S1]

SwiftDB4,  that is very helpful.  Thank you.  To be clear, the "Factory/Heritage" tour actually includes the CTL "tour"?  So really, while the CTL works is for me far more interesting than the factory, the best "deal" (aside from finances) is the "Factory & Heritage" tour which offers the best of both worlds?

We are planning to head up to Scotland so I'll fit the Jim Clark museum onto the schedule.  I understand that Clark's grave site is also just a short drive east of the museum.

Thank you.

[HealeyBN7]

We just completed this trip.  The factory tour is very interesting.  Technically we are on the list for an Emira, but I doubt we will see one in California any time soon.  For the Factory Tour, we were batched into a small group of eight folks or so and were scheduled for just a couple, but spent four to five hours including coffee and lots of chat with the workers that had classic cars.  Watched prototype cars on the track.  It was fun. 

We didn't sign up for CTL, but stopped by the gift store museum before going across the street to the factory.  They were prepping cars for Goodwood and many were not on site.  We did see them "arguing" about the right shade of red for a JPS pen stripe. It was hilarious.   Most likely if you time it right you can talk your way into CTL, but I would not cut the factory tour to rush over to the CTL gift shop.

Recommend staying in the Hotel near the Factory.  They have a nice collection of Lotus stuff as that is the go-to place for Lotus execs and now for folks taking factory delivery.

Have fun.  Everything in that part of the UK and Scotland is far apart.  Enjoy the driving.

The Clark museum is sparce.  We were swinging by on the way to a friend's house.  We spent as much time as we could in the museum and town, but it wasn't two hours including lunch.   It might be different if there was an event at the Museum or Chapman's estate.   

[SwiftDB4]

SwiftDB4,  that is very helpful.  Thank you.  To be clear, the "Factory/Heritage" tour actually includes the CTL "tour"?  So really, while the CTL works is for me far more interesting than the factory, the best "deal" (aside from finances) is the "Factory & Heritage" tour which offers the best of both worlds?

We are planning to head up to Scotland so I'll fit the Jim Clark museum onto the schedule.  I understand that Clark's grave site is also just a short drive east of the museum.

Thank you.

Yes the Factory/Heritage tour does include at least an hour at CTL. The guides are very knowledgeable about all the race cars there and give a very thorough tour. See that it is only available on Tuesday and Wednesday. If that doesn't fit your schedule CTL has its own 2 1/2 hour tours, but only 2 Saturdays per month:
https://shop.classicteamlotus.co.uk/classic-team-lotus-workshop-tour-512-p.asp
Factory/Heritage tour was well worth the money.

[My S1]

Thanks gents.  The only auto museum that I have visited in England was Lord Montague's museum in Beaulie.  What other UK Must See museums would you guys recommend?

[HealeyBN7]

The British Motor Museum in Gaydon is great.  I wouldn't expect to find Lotus products there but everything else is interesting.
 Land Rover, Leyland, MG speed cars, Jaguar and Healey all have cars there.  I think you can do the Land Rover off road there now.
https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/

The best place to see English cars in England is at the Goodwood Revival.  Even the outside the event pre-70's parking lot is as impressive as any museum.  See if you can time your trip to line up with Goodwood.  It is always best to see these cars come to life and chat with the owners.

Haynes Museum is ok, as it the Coventry Transportation Museum.  I wouldn't go out of my way for these.  For non car stuff the Churchill underground is impressive as is Bletchley House (code breakers). 

We had fun at the Morgon Factory.  We were there for several hours on a self guided free for all.  Didn't see anyone working just chatting and having tea.  It is no wonder the cars take years to produce and cost a lot.

If you insist on seeing only Lotus cars the Barber Museum here in the US is pretty impressive, but you will be distracted by the millions of motorcycles that you didn't know existed and now can't live without.

Hope this helps.

Dean  - Moved to Placerville 7 years ago... and never changed by profile;)