Every year, in the run-up to Goodwood Revival, we organise a classic-car photoshoot. Over the years our models have posed with everything from elegant Jaguars to Jeeps, hot rods and scooters, so the cars have become almost as important to the annual campaign as the clothes.
For 2026, however, we began with a deliberately less glamorous scene. Kay Belle had apparently been reduced to cycling to a bus stop and waiting for the number 499. With no classic car in sight, it appeared that the current economic situation had finally caught up with our photography budget.
The photograph makes rather more sense when you know where the bus was going.
The destination of the number 499 was County Classics Motor Museum in Taunton, Somerset, where rather more classic cars were waiting for Kay than our opening image suggested.
A Classic-Car Shoot in the Heart of Taunton
County Classics is Britainβs only town-centre motor museum. It occupies the former County Stores department store on North Street, a building that had been owned and run by five generations of the same family before closing in 2019.
From the street, it is difficult to imagine quite how much lies inside. The building unfolds into room after room of cars, motorcycles, historic cycles and motoring memorabilia. Some of the vehicles are spectacular, while others will be familiar to anyone who grew up watching British roads during the second half of the 20th century.
That balance is part of the museumβs charm. This is not simply a collection of impossibly rare machines kept at a reverential distance. It is filled with vehicles that prompt memories and conversations: cars people learned to drive in, motorcycles they once owned and models they remember their parents bringing home.
Every vehicle is individually captioned, while the museumβs volunteers add their own stories and knowledge. For our photography team, it offered polished paintwork, old leather, sparkling chrome and more possible settings than we could ever hope to use in a single day.
The Story Behind County Classics Motor Museum
The museum grew from the lifelong dream of its founder, Patrick Hawkins.
Patrick bought and sold his first car at the age of just 11, repairing and restoring it himself. As he later built his businesses from nothing, he also assembled a collection of cars and motorcycles, always hoping that he would eventually be able to create a museum in Somerset.
Following life-saving heart surgery, Patrick became determined to give something back to Taunton and to the people who had helped him. When the old County Stores building became available, he saw the opportunity to turn that ambition into something real.
Transforming a former department store into a motor museum was not a small undertaking. The historic building was restored and repurposed, with a disabled-access lift and a separate vehicle lift installed so that cars could be moved between its floors. Original architectural details were preserved, bespoke display areas were constructed and the collection was carefully arranged throughout the building.
Patrick and the team continued working through the disruption of the Covid lockdowns, devoting four years to the project. County Classics finally opened in November 2023, allowing Patrick to see the dream he had carried since childhood become a reality.
Sadly, Patrick died suddenly in August 2025.
Today, County Classics is a charitable, non-profit museum supported by its volunteers, visitors, donations and sponsorship. The team continues to develop the collection and find new ways to share the stories behind its vehicles, ensuring that Patrickβs work and vision live on.
We are immensely grateful to everyone at the museum for allowing us to photograph among the collection, trusting us with their precious cars and being so generous with their time and knowledge.
Meeting the Jaguar E-Type
The centrepiece of our 2026 photoshoot was the museumβs classic Jaguar E-Type.
This particular car had a personal resonance for me. I grew up in a family of Jaguar lovers, so Jaguars were very much part of the scenery of my childhood. Despite thatβor possibly because of itβI was always a little frightened of E-Types.
Seen from the front, the extraordinarily long bonnet, sweeping headlamps and oval air intake made them look remarkably like sharks. While the adults admired one of the most celebrated designs in British motoring history, I half expected it to bare its teeth.
Looking at an E-Type now, I can appreciate that its slightly predatory appearance is precisely what makes it so beautiful. It manages to appear elegant, glamorous and just a little dangerous at the same time, which also makes it a particularly appropriate companion for a What Katie Did photoshoot.
It was certainly worth Kayβs journey on the number 499.
Creating Our Goodwood Revival Campaign
What Katie Did has exhibited at Goodwood Revival for 20 years, and our annual photoshoot has become one of our favourite parts of the preparations.
The Revival recreates the period in which the original Goodwood Motor Circuit was active, from 1948 to 1966. It gives us the opportunity to bring vintage-inspired lingerie, fashion and hosiery together with the cars and surroundings that inspired them.
Photographing our pieces beside genuine classic vehicles gives the finished images a sense of place that cannot be reproduced with a studio backdrop. The lingerie creates the period silhouette, but the setting supplies the story.
For this article, however, we wanted to concentrate on the location and the people behind it. If you are planning your own outfit for the event, our separate guide to what to wear to Goodwood Revival covers 1940s, 1950s and early-1960s fashion, foundations, hosiery, footwear and the practical realities of a long day at the Motor Circuit.
Why County Classics Is Worth Visiting
County Classics has the feeling of a museum created by an enthusiast rather than a committee. The collection is extensive, but it remains personal and accessible, with individual stories accompanying the vehicles.
The building itself is part of the experience. Turning a much-loved Taunton department store into a motor museum has preserved an important part of the town centre while giving the collection a wonderfully unexpected home. There is also a cafΓ© and museum shop, making it very easy to remain considerably longer than intended.
As a small independent business, we understand how much determination is required to turn an ambitious idea into something realβand how important continued support becomes once the doors are open.
Visiting the museum, making a donation, volunteering or simply telling other people about it all help Patrickβs work continue. If your journey takes you anywhere near Taunton, we thoroughly recommend following the number 499 to County Classics.
Discover the Finished Photographs
Our enormous thanks go to the volunteers and team at County Classics Motor Museum for welcoming What Katie Did and allowing the museum to become part of our 2026 Goodwood story.
You can see the finished images and explore the vintage-inspired lingerie, shapewear, seamed hosiery, clothing and accessories featured in our Goodwood Revival fashion collection.
Classic cars had not been removed from the budget after all. They were simply waiting at the other end of the bus journey.
Β