James Bond's motorised co-stars on display in Keswick

On a list of cool things to find in a scrapyard, this has to be near the top. It has seen better days but the battered contraption in front of me is one of the coolest vehicles of all time - reports Stuff.

Anyone with a passing interest in James Bond will recognise the car as the Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me, the one that turns into a submarine as Roger Moore drives it into the sea.

This slice of petrolhead cinema history was found a few years ago on a scrapyard in the Bahamas and bought by car-crazy former dentist Peter Nelson.

It sits next to a rather more-spruced up version of the same car. The shinier car was also used in the film but wasn't adapted for underwater manoeuvres. Together they are among the star exhibits on display in one of the world's most unlikely museums.

The Bond Museum, which opened in April, is in an unexpected location, the cutesy town of Keswick in the English Lake District.

Keswick is a town of muddy boots, boat cruises and gorgeous West Highland terriers walking their owners around. Its markets, pubs and B&Bs reek of a cheerful, old-fashioned quaintness, yet Keswick has something of a quirky streak. For example, it is home to the Cumberland Pencil Museum and the world's biggest colouring pencil.

And then there's the Cars of the Stars museum. Also set up by Peter Nelson, this is an extraordinary display of vehicles that have been immortalised on the big and small screens. Among them are Mr Bean's Mini, the Weasleys' car from the Harry Potter movies, a Batmobile and the General Lee Dodge from The Dukes of Hazzard.

More exciting for visitors of my generation is the A-Team van, the Back to the Future DeLorean and the coolest car ever made: the real-life KITT – bought for the Nelson Collection directly from its Knight Rider co-star David Hasselhoff – is displayed in all its 480kmh, 0-100kmh in two seconds, flashing-red-lights glory.

The Bond Museum is a spin-off of Cars of the Stars. Nelson has amassed such a 007 collection that he needed to set up a separate museum to display it all.

Established somewhere else and this would be a slick, hyped-to-the-heavens affair, but the Bond Museum has the air of enthusiastic amateurism. It's very Keswick.

When I arrive, the two reception staff are poring over a cryptic crossword. They ask me for help with one of the clues, then launch into a bit of trivia.

“Which is the only Bond film where James Bond doesn't drive?” the young lad nervously utters. “I'll come and tell you in a bit.”

Inside the museum, a converted industrial hangar, there are all manner of flash cars from the 007 movies. But arguably the most interesting – and recognisable – are the other forms of transport. The tuk-tuk from Octopussy, the golden speedboat from Live and Let Die and the parahawk from The World is Not Enough bring out the giddy geek with frightening speed.

While we're looking at the Aston Martin Vanquish from Die Another Day, the lad from reception wanders up to give an endearingly awkward talk about it.

We learn that it was one of many cars used in the film, but it was the "hero" car – the one kept in pristine condition and driven by Pierce Brosnan. The others were specially designed for the stunts they'd be used to perform. The one that flipped itself over using the ejector seat had all but the bare minimum stripped out to keep it light, for instance.

“By the way,” the boy guide continues. “It was You Only Live Twice that he doesn't drive in.”

The museum headline act is the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger. Well, technically. It's not the one from the film itself – no one knows where that is. But this version looks identical and was driven by George Lazenby when he appeared as James Bond in The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E..

The stories behind it are perhaps more impressive than the car. For filming in Italy, it once had to be driven about 1500 kilometres in a day. When the driver was pulled over by French police for speeding, he flipped the number plates to avoid trouble. Then at the Italian border, the car was inspected and its hidden gadgets and machine guns led the border guards to believe they'd uncovered a terrorist plot.

The car collection is phenomenal but the museum itself comes across as a work in progress. The information displays could be more extensive, while the commentary could be more organised and confident.

There's also the small matter of not everything being on display. Nelson apparently owns two-thirds of the Q Collection. This is the gathering of Bond artefacts collected by the late Desmond Llewelyn – the actor who played gadget maestro Q. Some – such as the golden gun from The Man With the Golden Gun – are on display but most are waiting for a purpose-built upstairs gallery to be completed.

Yet it's the direct contrast between the well-meaning, slightly bumbling spirit of the museum and the gloss of the films that gives the Lake District's most unexpected attraction its charm.

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