A Day Out At Beaulieu

Beaulieu Palace House and Gardens

Attraction | "Beaulieu Palace House"

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Beaulieu Palace House looks very attractive from the outside. It is an unusual looking house with rounded towers and a black and white beamed entranceway. The palace House is actually converted from the Great gatehouse of Beaulieu Abbey. It has been the home of the Montagu family since 1538 and they are still sometimes in residence.The atmosphere feels very relaxed as you enter the Entrance Hall which has been used as a Billiard Room in the past. We then walked through to my favourite room, the Lower Drawing Room, this spacious room with beautiful leaded windows was originally the Entrance Hall and until it was converted the entrance driveway actually went through the central arch. We...Read More

Beaulieu Palace House looks very attractive from the outside. It is an unusual looking house with rounded towers and a black and white beamed entranceway. The palace House is actually converted from the Great gatehouse of Beaulieu Abbey. It has been the home of the Montagu family since 1538 and they are still sometimes in residence.

The atmosphere feels very relaxed as you enter the Entrance Hall which has been used as a Billiard Room in the past. We then walked through to my favourite room, the Lower Drawing Room, this spacious room with beautiful leaded windows was originally the Entrance Hall and until it was converted the entrance driveway actually went through the central arch. We then went through to the Main Dining hall where a long table was attractively set for an evening meal. Both of these rooms were dominated by huge stone fireplaces.

We also went into a Portrait Gallery which was quite small and many of the more recent portraits were actually upstairs. The Upstairs landing housed many portraits and I must say the new ones were absolutely awful, I am no artist but I think I could paint better myself! However the older ones were very attractive and nice to view.
The Private Dining room used now by the Montague family was open for viewing. This was a far cosier, more intimate room than the Main Dining Room and was very attractively decorated in warm tones.

I believe that sometimes you are able to view some of the other rooms in the private apartments but these were closed on the day of our visit.

We headed back downstairs and into the kitchen. On the way we stopped and had a quick look at a photographic display depicting a year in the life of Beaulieu. There are sometimes demonstrations on here but not when we visited. The kitchen is interestingly set out with lots of utensils and food products out on display so you could imagine when it was a working kitchen with a shiny, black-leaded Range. The Kitchen has been set in the Victorian times and if you look up you will see a whole wall of bells that summon the servants to various rooms around the house.

I liked looking around the house as it felt very sumptuous but also informal. There were plenty of places to sit down to absorb the atmosphere and you could get close to most of the artefacts. The only disappointment was that there was so little of the house open to visitors.

After visiting the house we took a walk through the Kitchen Gardens, unfortunately it wasn’t the best time of year and most of the beds were bare but it is laid out in the original design from the early 1800s. I imagine it provides a lovely display later in the season with lots of fruit and vegetables.
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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 15, 2025

Beaulieu Palace House and Gardens
New Forest
Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7ZN
01590 612 345

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National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

Attraction | "A Day at the Motor Museum"

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I hadn’t been to Beaulieu for about 25 years but when thinking of somewhere to take my teenage son for a day out over Easter the National Motor Museum seemed like a good idea. He is a bit of a Petrol-head and loves Top Gear so I knew that it would be the type of place he would enjoy.The prices seemed to have increased a fair bit since I last looked at going with adult tickets being £19 and youth tickets (13-17) being £11.25. There was a discount for pre-ordering e-tickets so in the end I paid £17.10 for the adults and £10.10 for my son. There was also a family ticket which would cover 2 adults and up to 3 children for about the same total price which seemed good value. The ticket must ...Read More

I hadn’t been to Beaulieu for about 25 years but when thinking of somewhere to take my teenage son for a day out over Easter the National Motor Museum seemed like a good idea. He is a bit of a Petrol-head and loves Top Gear so I knew that it would be the type of place he would enjoy.

The prices seemed to have increased a fair bit since I last looked at going with adult tickets being £19 and youth tickets (13-17) being £11.25. There was a discount for pre-ordering e-tickets so in the end I paid £17.10 for the adults and £10.10 for my son. There was also a family ticket which would cover 2 adults and up to 3 children for about the same total price which seemed good value. The ticket must be bought at least the day before visiting but you do not have to specify a date so it is definitely worth paying in advance and printing your ticket off. I was amazed how many people paid full-price on the day.

Like most places it asked me to do Gift Aid. I was happy to do this but what I didn’t realise until I got to the entrance was that my ticket would get us another days entry within the next 6 days to the whole site and my Gift aid signature gave us free entry to the National Motor Museum for a whole year so it was definitely worth doing. (The free entry doesn’t apply on Event days)

We were given a map of the venue, 50p vouchers off the Top Gear simulator and our Gift Aid pass and then we could enter.

There is a Monorail that has a circular route above the grounds. You can board near the World of Top Gear and do the full circuit or you can alight near the Palace to save having to walk across the site. The Monorail is not accessible to anyone in a wheelchair as there are a large number of steps to the entrance and no lift available. The Monorail carriages themselves have very low ceilings and even though I am only just over 5ft tall I still found them a little awkward to get in to. The windows are open so it was a rather chilly experience on the windy day we visited but it did provide lovely views over the kitchen hardens and was a nice experience.

There is also a bus that runs a circuit around the site as well. It is a recreation of a 1920s London bus which was made for the film The 39 Steps. It is open-top and there seemed to be great demand to sit on the top deck but since it was a chilly day I was quite happy to sit downstairs which was warmer. The steps are steep and a bit slippery so children had to be accompanied by an adult.

Both the bus and the monorail and included in the price of your entrance ticket and you can use them as often as you like but you do have to get off at the main stop and join the queue if you want to travel on them again.

In the centre of the site there was a large concrete area which normally houses Go-karts but these were not available when we visited which surprised me as it was during a school holiday. I know that these do cost extra but my son was looking forward to trying them.

Near the centre of the site is a rather ugly concrete restaurant with both inside and outside seating. This appeared surprisingly light and spacious when I walked through although we didn’t eat there so I can’t comment on the quality or price of the food on offer. The toilets were also in this area and they were very clean and well-maintained.

A visit to Beaulieu seems to cover a great variety of different interests. I found it an enjoyable visit but we probably only spent about 4 hours at the site. The cold weather didn’t really help as we got cold going from one part to another. This would be a much better place to visit in the warmer weather as the site seemed to have lots of attractive grounds and there was a walk to the Millpond that is opened during the summer months as well. It is certainly worth buying the tickets in advance and we may well visit again to take advantage of the free entry. Although the entry states it is only in to the National Motor Museum we will be able to access the whole site except for the house so it would be worth the trip. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 15, 2025

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu
Southeastern Edge of New Forest
Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

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National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

Attraction | "Beaulieu Abbey"

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Beaulieu Abbey is the original building on the site that now houses the National Motor Museum.In 1204 this was the site of a Cistercian Monastery. A large proportion of the Abbey was destroyed during the Reign of Henry VIII but there is enough still standing to present a pleasant place to walk around. The cloisters area is probably the best area and the seating areas let guests rest in the historical surroundings. To the left of the Cloisters the area of the original Abbey nave has been marked out using stone piles cut into the grass. I found this a really effective way of visualising the layout of the Abbey and the size of the Nave; it certainly would have been an impressive building ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 15, 2025

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu
Southeastern Edge of New Forest
Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

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National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

Attraction | "World of Top Gear"

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The first exhibition as you arrive at Beaulieu is the World of top Gear; it is to the right of the main path by the Monorail station.The outside exhibit area had some easily recognisable vehicles from the show. I am not the greatest fan of the show but I did recognise some of the cars and my son filled me in on the details. There was Jeremy Clarksons Mercedes Cottage, the Motorhomes, the cars for train tracks and the highlight was the Indestructible Hilux which even I recognised. The other easy to spot exhibits were Reliant Robin Rocket and the Snowbine harvester. Having seen the real space shuttle take off I must admit that the Reliant Robin did make me smile.The inside are...Read More

The first exhibition as you arrive at Beaulieu is the World of top Gear; it is to the right of the main path by the Monorail station.

The outside exhibit area had some easily recognisable vehicles from the show. I am not the greatest fan of the show but I did recognise some of the cars and my son filled me in on the details. There was Jeremy Clarksons Mercedes Cottage, the Motorhomes, the cars for train tracks and the highlight was the Indestructible Hilux which even I recognised. The other easy to spot exhibits were Reliant Robin Rocket and the Snowbine harvester. Having seen the real space shuttle take off I must admit that the Reliant Robin did make me smile.

The inside area was closed and we were told everything else would open at 10.30 so we came back to the area a bit later. I was a bit disappointed by what I felt was a lack of exhibits but I agreed to come back to see inside the dome.

When we got back we headed to the small dome structure and we were told that the show would start in about 10 minutes so we could wait in the corridor. This had boards all along one wall with true and fantasy facts about the show and the presenters which made entertaining reading. There were a few seats along one wall and then I realised that there were a few more cars in a display area. These cars were the ones from the Indian Challenge. Unfortunately, because everyone was waiting to go in and people were sat down in front of the windows you felt a bit awkward standing in front of them to look over them to the exhibits. The only way to see them properly was to come around the queue again when the next show started to have a look at them in comfort.

When the doors opened we want into a small dark room and were told to stand anywhere that we could see a small and large screen. Being more a Richard Hammond size person than a Jeremy Clarkson I stood near the front but actually there was great viewing all around and everybody fitted in easily and I think everyone could see. It was then that I had chance to look around and realised that it was a small mock-up of the Top Gear studio with the Cool Wall, Stig hanging Posters and the Lap times chart. There were also three cars; the Suzuki Ice-Hockey Car, the 24 Hour BMW and the Ski-jump Mini. We were then given a film show made especially for the Beaulieu audience by the presenters. There were lots of clips from the TV show but the whole thing was well done and very tongue-in-cheek and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You were allowed to take photographs inside but unfortunately you didn’t get much time, you were pushed in and out quite quickly. We managed to take a quick photo by the Cool wall when my husband realised his car was there (not surprisingly mine wasn’t even on the Uncool bit!).

Once we left the show we realised there was an inside exhibition area as well where there were plenty more of the presenters extreme make-over cars. My favourite was the Stretch Fiat Panda which I remembered seeing on the show. The other things I recognised included the Amphibious Cars and the Christmas Specials. This area was quite busy but everyone was very good natured about getting out of the way for photographs so everyone managed to get good pictures.

Outside there was a coin-operated remote-control car track and the Stig Simulator. The simulator was £5 each so even with the 50p voucher it would have been quite expensive so we decided to give it a miss.

I ended up being much more impressed with what was on display than I first thought and it was presented in a fun manner that appealed to both adults and children alike.
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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 11, 2025

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu
Southeastern Edge of New Forest
Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

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National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

Attraction | "Bond in Motion"

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The Bond in Motion exhibition is new for 2012 at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Like many people I have a real soft spot for James Bond films and I was looking forward to seeing the display. The tag line is 50 Vehicles, 50 Years so I expecting to see quite a bit. This exhibition is only running throughout 2012.The cars are housed in the main Motor Museum and are located on two floors. It immediately became apparent that there were lots of things on display. Each vehicle had an information plate stating which film it was in and then facts about the car. Some exhibits also had clips of the films playing so you could see the cars in action.Some of the most beautiful o...Read More

The Bond in Motion exhibition is new for 2012 at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Like many people I have a real soft spot for James Bond films and I was looking forward to seeing the display. The tag line is 50 Vehicles, 50 Years so I expecting to see quite a bit. This exhibition is only running throughout 2012.

The cars are housed in the main Motor Museum and are located on two floors. It immediately became apparent that there were lots of things on display. Each vehicle had an information plate stating which film it was in and then facts about the car. Some exhibits also had clips of the films playing so you could see the cars in action.

Some of the most beautiful of the James Bond cars in my opinion are the Aston Martins and it was lovely to see the classic DB5 from Goldeneye and the beautiful DBS from Quantum of Solace. What was also really interesting is that in several cases the stunt car was being displayed next to the pristine model. It was quite heartbreaking to see a rather battered and bruised DBS next to the shiny one. The exhibit we nearly didn’t get to see was the Vanquish (also known as the Vanish!) as that was behind glass and couldn’t be seen. We stood in an area looking at other vehicles whilst Die Another Day was playing on the wall, when the car reappeared in the film the glass became transparent and we could all see the sleek car before it disappeared again. This was a clever trick and added action to the exhibition.

There are other cars besides just those driven by bond including a pretty little Gold Ka driven by one of the Bond Girls and a much flashier Mustang that Bond ended up driving himself. Another car that was truly beautiful up close was the green Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day where the paintwork virtually glows due to the addition of gold to the paint.

What added a real fun element to this exhibition was all of the other vehicles from the films. There was a great variety of modes of transport including the Glaston Boat that famously flies in Live and Let Die (my all time favourite Bond movie), the Subaquatic Lotus Esprit from the Spy Who Loved Me, Jetboats, motorcycles and impressively Goldfingers Rolls Royce Phantom. There was also an exhibition of gadgets and props made for the films as well.

It took us quite a while to walk around and look at all the exhibits here and I liked the fact that they were all mixed up rather than being separated into types or films. It was really interesting reading about how stunt scenes were shot, how many vehicles they had of each type and for some of the more peculiar exhibits how they came to exist in the first place.

This was a fascinating exhibition for anyone who has seen any James Bond films and also for anyone who is simply a fan of sleek cars as there is so much to see. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 12, 2025

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu
Southeastern Edge of New Forest
Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

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National Motor Museum at Beaulieu

Attraction | "Cars, cars, cars!"

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Housed in a large, purpose built 70s looking concrete building the National Motor Museum houses the majority of the car exhibits at the Beaulieu site.The exhibition claims to have more than 250 exhibits. I can’t say I counted them individually but there was certainly plenty to look at.The entrance hall seems to contain a rather eclectic mix of vehicles. There are some real classic like the Volkswagon Beetle, the most popular car ever built, and the Austin 100, the forerunner of the Mini but there was also an American Chevrolet Aveo, one of the dullest cars we have ever rented when visiting the United States.Moving into the main hall the majority of the exhibits fol...Read More

Housed in a large, purpose built 70s looking concrete building the National Motor Museum houses the majority of the car exhibits at the Beaulieu site.

The exhibition claims to have more than 250 exhibits. I can’t say I counted them individually but there was certainly plenty to look at.

The entrance hall seems to contain a rather eclectic mix of vehicles. There are some real classic like the Volkswagon Beetle, the most popular car ever built, and the Austin 100, the forerunner of the Mini but there was also an American Chevrolet Aveo, one of the dullest cars we have ever rented when visiting the United States.

Moving into the main hall the majority of the exhibits follow a rough timeline on the progression of car development and motoring. There are all the expected exhibits like a Model T van and various early Austin cars from the 1920s. These then moved on to the enormous cars of the motoring heyday when driving was the preserve of the very rich and the whole idea of motoring purely for pleasure or sport was born. I found it amazing how large some of these cars were, especially things like the stunning Rolls Royce Phantom from the mid 20s. I must admit to being a real fan of Rolls Royce and they had plenty of these cars exhibited from the earliest model through to the huge depictions of luxury including a Silver Shadow from the late 60s which is the same model of car that took me to my wedding so has a special place in my heart.

In this hall there is also a good selection of more modest vehicles which introduced motoring to the masses after the Second World War. Unfortunately amongst cute cars like the Ford Anglia e there was the dreadful Robin Reliant. As a child I remember travelling in my uncles Reliant, I was terrified around the corners as it always felt unstable and that awful fibreglass will still be littering the world for generations to come. It was nice seeing cars like the original Mini which several of my friends used to own. There was also a wonderful Ford Capri which has only ever had one owner and has never been driven further than 2 miles in a day.

For racing car fanatics there are plenty of cars dating from the first track racing machines through to a current formula one car. This is not my area of interest at all but it was interesting to see how small the first cars were. There were also a couple of vehicles used in land-speed record attempts.

The hall also houses a few novelty items such as the Outspan Orange car which I remember being at the museum on my previous visit so it is certainly a long-term exhibit.

In the centre of the hall there is Jack Tuckers Garage. This is a recreation of a working garage from about 1930. It is not based on a particular garage but it contains genuine artefacts of the time arranged to create a convincing reproduction of how a garage would have appeared. There was even a Penny-farthing bike hanging from the ceiling.

Just past the garage is the Wheels ride. Visitors sit in pods to take a time travel journey. We were loaded as a 3 into our pod but I must say that sharing it with my husband and teenage son was a bit of a squash and I am not a very big person, it wasn’t busy and I think we would have been more comfortable in two separate carriages. You are taken on a ride past various displays depicting the history of wheeled transport and each pod has its own narration. This was a pleasant enough attraction and I am sure it would appeal more to children who will enjoy going on a "ride". What surprised me was that there was nowhere obvious to park pushchairs or wheelchairs for this ride so that people could transfer onto the attraction.

The hall also contains a large number of motorcycles but we didn’t look at those as we are not interested but there did seem to be a large variety.

I thought that the National Motor museum had some great exhibits but I felt that there could be more information about recent changes in car design and the developments of cars. It would be nice to see things like the range of Ford cars in the early 80s compared to now as recent history is often very interesting particularly to children. Even a large poster display area if they can’t have the cars would be interesting. However there is a great variety of things to see to entertain all the family.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 13, 2025

National Motor Museum at Beaulieu
Southeastern Edge of New Forest
Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

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