Smurfs look forward to a blue Christmas at Lakeland Motor Museum!

It’ll be a blue Christmas at Lakeland Motor Museum this year – thanks to a new family of Smurfs from the 1970s who’ve found a home there!

A little group of the famous tiny cartoon characters arrived unexpectedly in the museum’s post recently – and there’s a heart warming tale behind why they were sent there.

They belong to Karen Pickles, a retired medical secretary from Greasby in the Wirral. And they hold a special place in her heart. “When I was a little girl in the Seventies, my dad collected Smurfs for me when they were on offer at National Petrol Stations,” explains Karen. “He’d give them to me when he got back from work – I loved them!”

But as with many childhood delights, she grew out of them as she got older and forgot all about them.

“It was only after the deaths of my father and mother when we were sorting things out at their old home that we came across this little group who had been left behind all this time!”

And it was fate that they discovered the Lakeland Motor Museum would be a perfect forever home for the little characters.

“My dad died in 2022 and my mum passed suddenly in January this year so I was feeling I needed to get away for a break,” explains Karen.

“We headed to the Lake District and visited the Lakeland Motor Museum. While wandering around we saw its collection of Smurfs which are in the rear window of one of the exhibit vehicles.

“So, when we found our little collection from the Seventies we immediately thought they should go and join their cousins at the Lakeland Motor Museum!”

Curator at the Lakeland Motor Museum Chris Lowe says: “It’s not every day that you receive a collection of Smurfs in the post so it was a lovely surprise!

“Hearing how they have a place in Karen’s heart – makes it all the more special that we get to look after them. We want to thank her for sending them along to us.”

The new family of Smurfs have fitted in perfectly with their relatives already in the museum and are looking forward to seeing all the museum visitors over the Christmas holidays.

The Museum, at Backbarrow near Newby Bridge, is open every day apart from Christmas Day and if you are looking for gifts don’t forget to check out the Museum shop which has a unique selection including toiletries, jewellery, handbags books and toys.

And don’t miss the annual Boxing Day Classic Drive and Ride In Day on Thursday, December 26 from 10am to 1pm. The popular event is open to owners of classic cars, trucks, vans and motorbikes, as well as more recent hot hatches, superminis and high-performance sports cars. You don’t have to own a classic vehicle – just come along and enjoy seeing some of the region’s lovely private vehicles.