Address: Beaulieu, New Forest, Hampshire, SO42 7ZN

Website: Beaulieu Website

What3Words: ///unpacked.brambles.mats

Entry Price: £24.50 (Adult) £13.50 (Child) -August 2023 -Discount available for Caravan and Motorhome Club Members

Beaulieu near Brockenhurst in the New Forest is home to the National Motor Museum, a collection of motor vehicles from both our past and our present. Started in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu. There are a range of exhibits to enjoy, including World of Top Gear, Palace House, gardens, and falconry display.

---

World of Top Gear

One of the first areas of the Beaulieu site is the World of Top Gear. Some may call this area a scrapyard. Ohers may say it’s a collection of fantastic and creative creations. There are lots of vehicles that you would recognise from the previous series of Top Gear, including the Fiat Panda limo, the dampervan, and the ‘indestructible’ Toyota Hilux.

---

National Motor Museum

The National Motor Museum is at the heart of the Beaulieu Estate. It houses many different collections of vehicles and motoring memorabilia, including the Caravan and Motorhome Club area.

There are a number of interesting artefacts on display in the Caravan and Motorhome Club section, including the members’ catalogue, which was produced listing all of the members of the club back in the founding days. We also learned that Crystal Palace was the clubs first club site that opened in 1951. The first CL sites opened in 1961. In 1977, Abbey Wood Club Campsite was the first site to have at pitch electrical points installed.

---

Vehicle Parade

Most days at Beaulieu feature a vehicle parade, where visitors will find out even more about the cars on display from staff, however on the day that we visited this was not on as the parade area was being collapsed down following the Super Car weekend before we visited. We had a standing parade where we moved between a range of stationary vehicles and had various information shared with us.

---

Palace House

Palace House is a lovely place to explore after walking around the motor museum. Once the gatehouse of a medieval abbey, this house has been the home of the Montagu family since 1538.

---

Falconry Display

Beaulieu offers an incredible falconry display that showcases the skill and grace of birds of prey. With expert falconers and breathtaking demonstrations, we were amazed and came away having learnt a lot about Britain’s oldest sport.

---