At some museums you can only stare in awe. At the Nortfolk Motorcycle Museum, as Roy Workman discovered, you might go home with a bargain...

I first spotted this museum a couple of years ago when we were on a flyer of a day up from London, picking up points for the photographic Round Britain Rally which we have done for the last ten years. I made a note to pay it a visit when I was next in the area. The museum is situated in North Walsham, close to the railway station. There are two roads up to the museum, and unfortunately I took the first left - this was a mistake as this road has not seen any repairs for years. My sidecar frame bottomed out, much to the annoyance of the ballast and navigation expert (my wife, Chris), sitting in the chair.

We arrived at 4pm, and found that the museum usually closes at 4.30. I was met at the door by a man called George, who told me that he was listening to a local football match on the radio, and I could take my time. I found George to be very knowledgeable and helpful. The museum is run by him (George Harmer) and his son Steve. Steve runs a motorcycle repair and restoration business from the museum. They use original and replica spare parts for the machines, and sell spares as well.

The museum is a shed full of motorbikes - over one hundred of them - plus plenty of pushbikes hanging from the rafters. This is a very varied collection, with lots of small machines. I was particularly impressed with the collection of mopeds. George has a Victoria Vicky machine. I had one of these in 1960 but it stopped working. Looking in the Blue 'Un I saw that Palmers of Teddington were the only dealer doing spares for these machines, and for me at that time this meant a railway journey up from Kent to collect them.

Being a sidecar rider I was pleased to see a Heinkel Tourist scooter complete with Steib sidecar, which was in a lovely condition.

I spotted a Powerdrive three-wheeler, one of those 1960s micro cars, which was buried under a pile of motorcycle bits. George assured me that he will get it going sometime. I particularly liked this model as it looked good in its day.

There were lots of Nortons, BSAs and Velocettes, as well as a nice Gold Star with a 50s map roller reader attached to the handlebars. Amongst this collection there are also some old Japanese bikes, an MV, some BMWs and an NSU Max. There is a also a recently restored German 197cc two-stroke Express motorcycle. This is a very smart machine.

George tells me that they sometimes run the machines in the yard outside. He particularly likes running the NSU Max

Some machines are for sale, some need a lot of work and others look to be in ride-away condition. There was a Matchless G2 for sale, and Steve said they would MoT the bike when they sold it.

Close to the door there is a display of early Dinky and other makes of die cast toys, dating from the mid 1940s.

I left the museum just after 5pm as the football match had finished. George pedalled up on one of his classic pushbikes to see our outfit, before cycling off to get a cup of tea.

The museum is normally open seven days a week, except between October to Easter when they shut on Sunday. Opening times are from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission is £3, but I got a reduction for being over a certain age.

There are certainly a lot of different makes of machines here, including some that you my have forgotten about. If you are in the area this museum is well worth a visit.