The Ultimate Guide To The Museum of Brands, London
/Damon and I were kindly invited to visit The Museum of Brands (a.k.a the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising) in Notting Hill during our recent London trip. The museum, which focuses on the history of consumer culture in the UK, opened its doors in 1984 and now holds a collection of over 12,000 items.
We’ll be answering all of your questions about the museum in this comprehensive FAQ guide, before commenting on our own experience.
Getting To The Museum of Brands
If you’re trying to get anywhere in London, we’d recommend downloading and using the Citymapper app.
The Museum of Brands is located on Lancaster Road in Notting Hill, London (Post Code: W11 1QT).
Nearest Tube Station
Ladbroke Grove is the nearest tube station to the Museum of Brands. The station is in Zone 2 and is served by both the Circle and Hammersmith & City underground lines. From there, it’s only a 3 minute walk to the museum on Lancaster Road.
London Buses
A number of buses stop at the Ladbroke Grove station, which is only a couple of minutes walk away from the museum. These include bus numbers 7, 23, 52, 70, 228 and 452.
Using Uber
Be aware that Uber has had issues with its London license so check that it’s operating as normal during your trip.
Currently, you can pick up an UberX, Uber XL, Pool, Exec, Lux, Assist and Access to get to the museum.
If you’ve never used UBER before, use our code: andrewy2730ue or sign up here to get a discount on your first journey.
Opening Times
The museum’s opening hours are as follows:
Monday To Saturday: 10:00-18:00
Sundays and Bank Holidays: 11:00-17:00
Last entry is 45 minutes before closing time and the museum is also closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
Ticket Prices
The museum of brands does have an entrance fee with tickets costing:
Adults: £9
Children (8 and Over): £5
Under 7s: Free
Concessions £7
Family: £24
Annual Ticket £17
You can get a digital (Email) ticket or you can get your tickets posted out to you via Royal Mail. Alternatively, if you’re considering booking other attractions or experiences for your London trip, we’d suggest booking all of your tickets through Viator (a TripAdvisor company) so they’re all in one place.
London Pass
One other option you can consider, especially if you’re planning on visiting a number of London’s top sights, is to get a London Pass. This is effectively a multi-experience pass which gives you access to over 80 attractions across London, with the ultimate aim of saving you money over purchasing a lot of individual entrance tickets.
The London Pass includes access to the Tower of London, View from the Shard, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’d Cathedral, Kensington Palace and more. Plus, you get a Hop-on Hop-off 24 hour Bus Tour as well as a Thames River Boat Cruise.
Brief History Of The Museum
The museum’s collection, which now boasts over 12,000 items, is the personal collection of Robert Opie, a consumer historian and author who has collected contemporary packing since his teenage years. Opie opened his first exhibition, The Pack Age, at the V&A museum, London in 1975 and 9 years later, the first iteration of the Museum opened in Gloucester.
The Museum became a registered charity in 2002 and, in 2005, the collection was moved to a larger home in Notting Hill. This was made possible due to sponsorship from large consumer brands including Cadbury, Diageo, Kellogg’s, McVities, Twinings and Vodafone.
Another relocation was required due to the ever-growing size of the collection and so, in 2015, the Museum moved to its current premises on Lancaster Road.
Our Experience - The Time Tunnel
Instead of just being a plethora of randomised historic collectables, the museum is chronologically organised by year, creating a walk through of consumer history. Items date from the Victorian Period all the way through to today.
There was a greater range of items than I expected from food packets and toys to magazines and electronics. And at some point, you will experience that feeling of nostalgia, whether you’re 18 or 80.
I have no doubt that everyone will connect with something different during their visit, whether it’s a magazine cover from the 90s or a collection of Star Wars toys released for the original films.
Cafe, Gardens and Gift Shop
The exit to the time tunnel brings you out into the Museums cafe. There’s also a garden area with seating for when the weather is pleasant. The cafe is quite small but it offered everything you would expect. A range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and cakes.
One interesting feature on the cafe wall was an exhibit on eco-friendly packaging. Ideas developed by a range of companies were all on display. This could offer an interesting idea for expansion. Whilst the current collection deals with the past and the present, another section could display packaging concepts of the future.
Conclusion And Scoring
Overall, we really enjoyed our visit to the Museum of Brands. The large collection of items on display, neatly presented, offers good value for money. The museum is well connected by London’s excellent public transport system. But it is slightly out of the way in Western London so you should take into account travel time if you’re planning other activities for the day.
In terms of suggestions for improvement, we think an audio guide would be a nice addition to the experience. In addition, an expansion of the eco-friendly/future packaging display would be fascinating to see.
Thank you to Museum of Brands for inviting us to visit. As always, all opinions are my own. Are you thinking of visiting the Museum of Brands, London? If you've got any questions, or if you just want to comment, please let us know in the section down below.
