Of the 250-plus wonderful cars on display at the Heritage Motor Centre, almost my favourite — certainly in the top five — was the very first I saw. This was the cream Rover P3 75 from 1948 that stands immediately next to the entrance. You can see the back of the car on the extreme left of one of the pictures on this page. The scene it presents reminds me very much, except for the figures in the foreground, of the toy garage of my childhood.

It is, of course, for a lucid presentation of the past that people travel to museums such as this. Where the past is within one’s memory, the appeal of the exhibits is the more potent. The timeline that advances around the perimeter wall of the motor centre reaches 1951 behind the Rover — the year of my birth. The car and its neighbours are like very old friends.

So museum ‘stars’ such as James Bond’s Aston Martin Vanquish, Lady Penelope’s astonishing six-wheeled Rolls-Royce FAB 1 and Paddy Hopkirk’s Monte Carlo Rally-winning Mini-Cooper S had to wait while I wallowed in nostalgia for the 1950s.

This meant becoming reacquainted not only with the Rover but also with the many fine models that surrounded it. These included another example of the marque, a 1950 Rover P4 75 (also cream), known as a Cyclops because of the large single light in the centre of the radiator grille. The design, I learned, had been inspired by that of a contemporary Studebaker. They were superb cars, these and their successors. I witnessed the destruction of so many of them (to my shame) during the 1960s and 70s in that vandals’ pastime that was stock car racing.

Among other well-remembered models in the line was a black Wolseley 6/80 from 1951, many of which were used by the police. They were a familiar sight both on the streets and on the TV screen racing (maximum speed about 80mph) in pursuit of villains in various Francis Durbridge thrillers.

Elsewhere in the collection can be seen the very last Wolseley, a 2200 model from 1975, as well as the first one with four wheels, a 3½hp Voiturette of 1899. I was also delighted to see a Wolseley Eight from 1939 that was the personal property of Lord Nuffield.

Last Thursday was my first visit to the Heritage Motor Centre, which is pretty shaming considering how close it is (just off the M40, not far north of Banbury) and how long it has been open (18 years).

My trip was made in response to an invitation to visit the new exhibition Sci-Fi at the Movies, which can be seen there until September 4. This is a fascinating display from the vast collection of Luke Kay, a former disc jockey who now runs a shop devoted to the subject in Swindon.

Star Wars material is in good supply and there is other memorabilia associated with the likes of Harry Potter, Spider-Man, ET and Superman.

For information go to the website (www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk).