Lakeland Motor Museum is celebrating its seventh anniversary on its current site this Saturday and more than 500,000 visitors have now passed through the doors.

The attraction relocated to its current home at Backbarrow, near the southern tip of Windermere, from Holker Hall in May 2010.

The move tripled the amount of exhibition space, providing room to dramatically expand its collection.

Exhibits include the Isle of Man TT and the Campbell Bluebird displays, as well as a very rare 1930s SS Jaguar 100 and a collection of legendary Vincent motorbikes.

The TVR Cerbera Speed 12, which was originally conceived as the world's highest performance road car, is another popular crowd-pleaser.

Chris Lowe, manager at the Lakeland Motor Museum, said: “Half a million visitors is a landmark figure for us and really shows that heritage tourism is making a big contribution to the tourism sector – and the local economy as a whole.

“It’s important that it’s not just car enthusiasts we’re seeing, but also plenty of couples and young families who want to take a look at some unique motoring machines they won’t see in their day-to-day lives. We get schools, coach parties and even people bringing their dogs along too.”

He added: “We’ve also introduced private evening hire for special celebrations and corporate events, after visitors kept asking us about exclusive use of the Museum. As we continue to grow as a business, these special evening openings allow us to offer more flexibility and give people an exclusive experience in a genuinely unique location.”