Beaulieu National Motor Museum, Hampshire, United Kingdom

5Heather G 5:00 PM Aug 25, 2022

If you love cars your in the right place
The hubby wanted to revisit his childhood so we visited Beaulieu motor museum with our children. The drive in takes you though some beautiful wild spaces with pony’s free to roam and a beautiful little town too. The staff recognised we had an electric car and diverted us to the charge point (4 charge points were available) The entrance staff were lovely, very helpful and told us about what would be on during the day. Toilets are in close vicinity of the entrance, handy to know when you have a long journey. The museum itself is packed out full of different vehicles on different floors. A really cool display of F1 history is mounted beautifully. The bond display was nice to see, very interesting cars and memorabilia. The cafe was overpriced, the staff were lovely but when you order a kids sandwich box and get half a sandwich that’s a bit silly. There is a bus ride that takes you around part of the park, and also the monorail too. Only issue with the monorail is there are a lot of steps to get up/down to it for obvious reasons, not handy for someone who is struggling to walk well. But the staff were lovely and waited patiently for one of our party to make their way up. The car show at 2pm was very funny, with a good selection of cars to view. There is a fantastic playground as well, we could have lost the children to it all day! Looks brand new and has lots of areas for the children to use their imaginations. The falconry master was brilliant, this isn’t a show you’ve seen before as you are just watching him train the birds, but nonetheless fascinating to watch. The husband could have stayed forever, it is a good day out with a little bit of something for everyone.

4Robert A 5:00 PM Mar 11, 2023

An ambition achived
I have wanted for many years to visit Beaulieu (more specifically the National Motor Museum) and it didn't dissapoint upon arrival. It's hard to say whether my experience is typical as I paid a visit during the winter when, as expected, visitor numbers are lower (for me, an advantage) during a non-event day. Although the museum building itself isn't particularly pretty which is somewhat at odds with its setting, what lies within is a far more atmospheric experience altogether; there are nicely curated displays and some of the motoring heritage on display is of the sort I never thought I would live to see. Very impressed. Although not the purpose of my visit, I did make time to visit the Abbey and the gardens, which I would highly recommend setting time aside to do them justice (I was rather hurried, but that was lack of planning on my part. My interaction with staff was in the visitor centre, monorial and in the Brabazon Restuarant. Made to feel very welcome and not at all rushed. It's probably one of the pricier venues I have visited recently so that should be borne in mind, however, the ticket does provide 12 months entry (subject to conditions) and, as ever, cost and value are different things and for me it was worth every penny. The gift shop was very fairly priced in my opinion and there are plenty of pocket-money priced offerings as well as a good slection of goodies for the adults. It speaks volumes that I would not hesitate to return and look forward to seeign how the proposed new visitor experience crystalises. There's a lot to see so pace the time carefully if you only have a day to visit.