Beaulieu National Motor Museum & Palace House: A Complete Guide to the New Forest Visitor Attraction
What is Beaulieu?
Beaulieu is an award-winning visitor attraction at the heart of the New Forest National Park, between Southampton and Bournemouth in Hampshire. It is operated by Beaulieu Enterprises Ltd and runs on land owned by the Montagu family for more than four centuries. One inclusive ticket gives access to a whole estate of attractions: the National Motor Museum, Palace House and Gardens, Beaulieu Abbey, Little Beaulieu, the Secret Army Exhibition, On Screen Cars, the We Had One Of Those nostalgic display, plus unlimited rides on the mile-long Monorail and the open-top Veteran Bus.
Beaulieu is a member of Visit England, Tourism South East, Hampshire Top Attractions, Treasure Houses of England and the Historic Houses Association, and is one of the south's most popular days out for families, motoring enthusiasts and history lovers alike.
Location and how to get there
The Beaulieu postcode is SO42 7ZN. The site sits just inside the New Forest, with the brown-and-white tourist signs off Junction 2 of the M27. Free parking is available in the main car parks, which can hold up to 1,000 cars, with overflow space for busy event days. There is a separate disabled car park next to Visitor Reception, and motorhomes or vehicles towing caravans can use the coach park.
The nearest mainline railway station is Brockenhurst, about six and a half miles away, with a taxi rank at the station and a typical fare of around £20 to Beaulieu. The New Forest Tour's Green Route runs in summer (4 July to 13 September 2026) and links Beaulieu with Hythe Ferry, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Lymington. Cyclists are welcome, and ferry connections from the Isle of Wight run into Lymington. Visitors arriving by train, bus or ferry can claim 20% off standard admission.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Beaulieu is open daily from 10am, every day of the year except Christmas Day. Closing times for 2026 are 5pm from 1 January to 22 May, 6pm from 23 May to 13 September, and 5pm from 14 September onwards. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.
The current Summer 2026 ticket prices (under the government's Great British Summer Savings reduced-VAT period, 25 June to 1 September 2026) are:
- Adult advance: £24.80; on the day: £27.56
- Child (age 4 - 16) advance: £14.57; on the day: £16.19
- Children 0 - 3: free
- Family from (1 adult and 3 children): £55.12 advance / £61.27 on the day
Standard 2026 prices from 2 September 2026 are:
- Adult advance: £28.35; on the day: £31.50
- Child (age 4 - 16) advance: £16.65; on the day: £18.50
- Children 0 - 3: free
- Family from (1 adult and 3 children): £63.00 advance / £70.00 on the day
Concessionary rates are available for disabled visitors, with one registered carer admitted free per paying ticket. Blue Peter Badge holders (with a valid Digital ID or physical Badge ID) are entitled to free entry with a full paying adult, up to a maximum of two badges per adult. National Art Pass holders receive 50% off on-the-day admission. UK taxpayers can Gift Aid their ticket to receive an annual pass to the National Motor Museum Trust at no extra cost.
Beaulieu also offers a "Return For Free" scheme, allowing visitors to come back for an additional visit within six days of their first visit. The scheme excludes major event days such as the Supercar Weekend, Spring and International Autojumble, Custom and American Show, BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair and A Palace House Christmas. Gift vouchers covering any value are available online and are valid for one year.
A brief history of Beaulieu
The Beaulieu estate has more than 800 years of history. The land was once a royal hunting lodge belonging to the Crown, and in 1204 King John gifted it to the Cistercian order, where it grew into the prosperous Beaulieu Abbey. The Abbey flourished until the 1530s, when Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries led to its surrender to the Crown on 2 April 1538. The estate was sold in 1538 for £1,340 6s 8d to Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, a direct ancestor of the current owners, who converted the Great Gatehouse into a modest manor house.
The estate developed through successive owners, including John, 2nd Duke of Montagu, who founded the shipbuilding village of Buckler's Hard on the estate in the 1720s. The first resident owner was Lord Henry Scott, who was given the estate in 1867 as a wedding present and transformed Palace House into the family home that visitors see today. The public has been exploring the Abbey ruins since 1912, and in 1952 Edward, Lord Montagu opened Palace House and Gardens, making Beaulieu one of the first stately homes to open to visitors. For the grand opening, he displayed five veteran cars in the entrance hall as a tribute to his late father, John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, a motoring pioneer. From these humble beginnings the Montagu Motor Museum grew, supported by the British motor industry, and was renamed the National Motor Museum in 1972. The collection has been governed since then by the National Motor Museum Trust, an independent charity.
Palace House
Palace House was once the gatehouse of the medieval Beaulieu Abbey and has been the Montagu family home since 1538. Set in idyllic New Forest grounds overlooking the Beaulieu River millpond, it was remodeled and extended in the 1800s into the Victorian country house visitors can see today. Inside, the ecclesiastical heritage gives the home a gothic tone, with family treasures, portraits and memorabilia.
Costumed characters guide visitors through the Drawing Room, the magnificent Dining Hall, the restored Victorian Kitchen, the regal Portrait Gallery and Edward, Lord Montagu's Library. The Library is reached through a false bookshelf door and was where the late Lord Montagu would play his records. Newly refurbished rooms in the former private wing - Lord Montagu's old apartment - opened at Easter 2025 as part of a project with the interior design department at Southampton Solent University. A gallery called The Lady and the Rebel tells the story of two remarkable women in the Montagu family, Pearl Pleydell-Bouverie and Elizabeth Montagu.
The most recent room to be unveiled is the Circus Room, a tribute to Lord Montagu's mother, the late Belinda, Lady Montagu, whose love of circus imagery fills the decoration. A four-poster bed with a red-and-white striped canopy dominates the room, with embroidered pieces and personal artworks on display. Adjacent is the Circus Room turret, which commemorates the Beaulieu Jazz Festivals of 1956 to 1961 with a sole surviving carousel horse, named Rama, restored by local signwriter Phil Gofton. The adjacent Water Babies room and the Griffin's Nest continue the storytelling tour.
The National Motor Museum
The National Motor Museum is one of the finest collections of cars, motorcycles and motoring memorabilia in the world, with legendary F1 cars, land speed record breakers and pioneering examples of early motoring. A new gallery, Driven: Britain's Motoring Story, opened in summer 2025 and is one of the most significant changes to the Museum since it was built. It interprets the development of motoring in the UK in five sections, taking visitors from the earliest pioneers through to the iconic cars and people who transformed everyday life. There are spotlight loan vehicles, fun interactive displays, archive video and sound, and rarely seen items from the museum's collections.
The current In Focus Gallery (12 June 2026 to 7 February 2027) features contemporary artworks by award-winning French artist Alan Reullier, whose pop-art pieces transform blueprints of old Land Rover, Triumph and Mini vehicles into colourful canvases available to view and buy.
Other long-running displays include:
- Streets Ahead: Motoring in mid-century Britain - a nostalgic 1950s-to-1970s shop-lined street scene.
- A Chequered History - featuring Grand Prix Greats in celebration of F1 history, plus Road, Race & Rally sports cars.
- Jack Tucker's Garage - a rustic 1930s mechanic's workshop packed with tools, fixtures and ephemera.
- The Motorcycle Story - from early motorsport to urban culture, with thematic backdrops.
- For Britain & For The Hell Of It - a multi-media tribute to British Land Speed record attempts.
- The Luxury of Motoring - a brand-new display with the glittering centrepiece of 28 Lalique mascots.
The 2027 National Motor Museum Trust Prize Draw will take place on Friday 9 April 2027, with a star prize of a 1969 Morris Minor Convertible (with a £10,000 alternative first prize).
Disney and Pixar Cars - 20th anniversary display
From 29 June to 1 November 2026, life-size models of Lightning McQueen, Jackson Storm and Finn McMissile return to Beaulieu in a brand-new 20th anniversary display area, complete with themed props including the Piston Cup and a winner's podium for photographs. A new children's racing game experience takes its inspiration from the high-octane world of the films, with a gaming seat accessible for children who use a wheelchair.
Horrible Histories - Vile Victorians trail
From 23 May to 31 August 2026, Rattus the cheeky rat from Horrible Histories leads visitors on a trail around the attraction in partnership with Scholastic, the publishers of the Terry Deary books. The Vile Victorians trail moves through the attraction learning about motoring firsts, the Hon. John Scott Montagu's bold prediction for monorails, Victorian village life, the dark side of Victorian fashion, and the dangers of daily life in a grand house like Palace House. The trail is included in the general admission ticket.
We Had One Of Those
We Had One Of Those is a brand-new interactive attraction featuring up to 10 nostalgic cars from the 1960s through to the 2000s. Visitors can open the doors, sit inside and interact with retro dashboards, buttons and dials on cars including a VW Beetle, Morris Minor, Austin Allegro, Vauxhall Cavalier, Nissan Micra and Ford Mondeo. The cars are surrounded by period items, furniture, sounds and accessories to evoke the era, from fluffy dice and beaded seats to period records and GameBoys. Rewind TV filmed a series dedicated to the cars on display at Beaulieu.
On Screen Cars
The On Screen Cars exhibition celebrates the cars that starred in TV and film favourites. Current exhibits include Mr Bean's Mini, Del Boy's Reliant Van from Only Fools and Horses, an original Doctor Who Dalek (and a Gold Dalek), the Jaguar XKR from the Bond film Die Another Day, the flying Ford Anglia from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Doctor Who's Bessie, and cars from Gavin & Stacey including Smithy's Volvo, Gavin's Citroën Saxo and Uncle Bryn's Citroën Picasso. New for summer 2026 is Peter Kay's Fiat 500L from the BBC and BAFTA-winning comedy Car Share, complete with panoramic glass roof and the spacious interior that famously accommodated Kayleigh's shopping bags.
Secret Army Exhibition
The Secret Army Exhibition tells the story of Beaulieu's role, during World War Two, as a top-secret training establishment for special agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). More than 3,000 SOE agents were trained here before undertaking daring missions behind enemy lines. The exhibition introduces the special agents who answered Winston Churchill's call to "set Europe ablaze", the training they received at Beaulieu, and how their gallant actions helped ensure Allied victory. A special exhibition curated by the late Lady Montagu commemorates two Beaulieu-trained agents from France, Francis Suttill (codename Prosper) and Yvonne Rudellat (codename Jacqueline), with previously unseen family photographs and short films.
Beaulieu Abbey
Beaulieu Abbey was founded by King John in the early 13th century and was given the name Bellus Locus Regis, "the Beautiful Place of the King". Legend tells that King John donated the land to the Cistercian order after a disturbing nightmare in which he was beaten by monks, hoping to atone for his past oppressions. The Abbey flourished with farming, wool production and herbal medicine until 1538, when Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries saw it surrendered to the Crown and sold to the Earl of Southampton for £1,340. The Abbey Church, Cloister and Chapter House were demolished, but the Refectory, Domus and two Gatehouses were preserved for secular use.
Visitors walk through the preserved foundations of the Abbey Church, the Cloister with its aromatic herb garden, and the Domus, where an exhibition tells the story of the medieval Cistercian monks. The upper floor features embroideries designed by the late Lady Montagu depicting the Abbey's history. The Refectory survived to become the village parish church, open to visitors daily between 1pm and 3pm subject to services. The Abbot's Mews exhibition tells the story of falconry on the Beaulieu Estate, with Lord Montagu's falconer Paul Manning offering exclusive falconry introductions for private or small family groups (call 07747 604634 to book).
Little Beaulieu
Little Beaulieu is the enchanting adventure play area inspired by Palace House and the Abbey ruins, designed and built by CAP.Co Adventure Play. Children storm the bridge of a wooden fantasy palace, peek out from behind portraits, crawl through a trick bookcase, and find a secret staircase and a clock tower lookout. There is an epic climbing wall, a treetop boardwalk, an observation tower from which to watch the monorail pass, a rope maze room, a top-secret tunnel and a zip wire. The Little Beaulieu roadway leads to a wooden car, bar rings, stepping stones, a sandpit for younger tots and an impressive wooden play bus modelled on Beaulieu's Veteran Bus. A kiosk serves refreshments on weekends and during school holidays.
Grounds and Gardens
The Beaulieu grounds and gardens were originally the grounds of Beaulieu Abbey and later Palace House. Today's visitor highlights include the Mill Pond Walk, with views across the tidal Beaulieu River and the Rufus Memorial Cairn marking the spot where King William Rufus was killed during a hunt in 1100, the Wilderness Garden dating back to the 1770s and carpeted in spring with snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils, the restored Victorian Kitchen Garden with its century-old vine house, the Victorian Flower Garden with its herbaceous borders and roses, and the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland topiary display. The Love Lock Tree, a giant Green Man tree carving, the Hydra and the Griffin are among the sculptures around the parkland.
Phantasmagorical rides - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mr Toad's Car
From 28 March to 1 November 2026, weekends and local school-holiday Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, visitors can book a ride in the iconic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Mr Toad's Car from Terry Jones' The Wind in the Willows. The experience lasts approximately 20 minutes, leaving from the arena outside the National Motor Museum with a parade down Chestnut Avenue to Palace House, a photo opportunity, and a return loop.
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ride: £50 per ride
- Mr Toad's Car ride: £40 per ride
Each ride can seat two adults and two children or three adults; children under 5 must be accompanied in the back and all under 16s must be accompanied. Tickets must be booked on the day at the National Motor Museum Information desk, as the rides cannot go ahead in wet weather conditions or on busy event days. The vehicle is a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reconstruction built using authentic parts from one of the film's original cars.
Monorail and Veteran Bus
The mile-long Monorail is the oldest in England and offers a sedate bird's-eye tour of the grounds, gardens and the roof of the National Motor Museum with informative commentary. The Monorail runs at frequent intervals throughout the day until dusk, weather permitting. The Veteran Bus is a replica 1912 open-topped London bus that shuttles between the Brabazon Restaurant and Palace House on gentle rides through the grounds. Both are included in the general admission ticket.
Where to eat - Brabazon Restaurant
The on-site Brabazon Restaurant serves fresh, homemade food using produce sourced from the British Isles and, where possible, from the Beaulieu Gardens. Hot food runs from 11:30am to 2:30pm daily, with pizzas, pastas, sustainably sourced fish and chips, and Jude's ice cream. The Coffee Shop is open from 10am with Costa hot drinks, sandwiches, paninis, and homemade cakes. A small selection of wine and beer is available with meals, and Beaulieu works with Olio on food waste. There are picnic areas throughout the parkland, including a new undercover seating area outside the restaurant, and visitors are welcome to bring their own food; disposable barbecades are not permitted.
Gift shops
The free-to-enter Gift Shop in Visitor Reception stocks the Beaulieu Collection, Palace House Collection, National Motor Museum Collection, Motoring Gifts, the Monorail Collection (celebrating 50 years of the Monorail), New Forest souvenirs, soft toys, model cars, books, homeware, accessories and locally sourced treats. The Palace House Kitchen Shop focuses on home and kitchen wear, including Beaulieu Abbey Gin, hand creams, soaps and themed books and DVDs about the Montagu family. There is a dedicated mail-order form for those who cannot visit in person. A range of gift vouchers valid for one year are available online and can be redeemed against admission, shopping and most events.
Accessibility
Beaulieu aims to provide the best possible access for every visitor. Pathways suitable for wheelchairs join all the sites within the attraction, although some garden and riverside paths are hoggin or gravel. The National Motor Museum has three floors with lift access; the lower level of Palace House is accessible to wheelchair users, with a visual guide to the upstairs rooms. Free manual wheelchairs and electric scooters are available to hire, subject to availability, and should be booked in advance by calling 01590 614646. There are wider parking bays for Blue Badge holders next to Visitor Reception, three sets of disabled toilets, induction loops in key areas, large print visitor information and a DVD tour showing the upper floors of Palace House and the Monorail route for those unable to access them in person. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome across the site.
Bringing dogs
Well-behaved dogs on a lead are welcome at Beaulieu in all outdoor areas, in Visitor Reception, in the Gift Shop and in the Brabazon Restaurant. Dogs are not permitted inside the National Motor Museum, Palace House, On Screen Cars, the Abbey, the Secret Army Exhibition, the Monorail, the Veteran Bus or the Little Beaulieu play park. There is an unmanned Dog Waiting Area beneath the Motor Museum entrance with chains, water bowls and raised beds, where dogs can be left at the owner's own risk.
Groups, education and car clubs
Group rates apply to a minimum of 15 paying visitors; bookable through the Group Visits & Tours team on 01590 614645 or by email. The Learning team offers curriculum-linked programmes for school groups, with a minimum charge of 15 students and programmes typically lasting around 1 hour 15 minutes for up to 30 students. Free teacher pre-visits, risk assessment templates and a free 5-minute ride in a 1928 Austin 12 are available. Car Club Visits & Rallies give motoring clubs use of the venue with all-inclusive access to the attraction for their members, and a dedicated Christmas group offer uses the Alice's Christmas Wonderland experience as its centrepiece. The dedicated hospitality arm runs meetings, conferences, corporate events, weddings, celebrations, Christmas parties and summer parties for between 20 and several thousand guests.
Events calendar 2026
Beaulieu runs a packed calendar of events throughout the year. Highlights include:
- Summer Holiday Fun - 20 July to 31 August 2026, with the new Horrible Histories, Disney and Pixar Cars, motoring parades, falconry and living history.
- Graham Walker Memorial Run - Sunday 9 August 2026, pre-1940 motorcycles touring the New Forest.
- Simply Mercedes - Sunday 9 August 2026, Mercedes-Benz owners invited to display their cars. Participants £15.30 advance / £17 standard.
- Outdoor Theatre: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Wednesday 12 August 2026, 6:30pm, Adult £18 / Concession £15 / Family £60.
- Outdoor Theatre: The Great Gatsby - Thursday 13 August 2026, 6:30pm, Adult £18 / Concession £15 / Family £60.
- Simply Jaguar - Sunday 16 August 2026, with anniversary displays of the X100, X150, X-Type and XJ40. Participants £15.30 advance / £17 standard.
- Simply Aston Martin - Sunday 23 August 2026.
- The Beaulieu Oak Run - Sunday 6 September 2026.
- International Autojumble - Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026, the biggest outdoor sale of motoring items this side of the Atlantic, with Classic Car Park, Automart, Dealermart, Premium Tickets and a Bonhams showcase. Advance adult one-day £15.30, two-day £28.05; on the day one-day £18 / two-day £33.
- Simply BMW - Sunday 20 September 2026.
- VauxALL South - Saturday 26 September 2026.
- Simply Italian - Sunday 27 September 2026.
- October Half Term - Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.
- Simply Smart - Sunday 8 November 2026.
- Palace House Presents - Alice's Christmas Wonderland - Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, the festive theatrical experience in Palace House by CLW Event Design.
Upcoming 2027 events
Dates already announced for 2027 include the Easter Holidays (1 to 31 March 2027) and the National Motor Museum Trust Prize Draw on Friday 9 April 2027. Other confirmed 2027 events listed in the calendar include the New Forest VW Santa Run, Drive-It Day, BBC Gardeners' World Spring Fair, Spring Autojumble, Beaulieu Supercar Weekend, Custom and American Show, Simply Land Rover, Transport Torques: An Evening with Derek Daly, the National Austin Seven Rally, Beaulieu Bikers' Day, May Half Term, Mini Cooper Register National Mini Day and the full suite of Simply rallies (Audi, BMW, Ford, French, Italian, Jaguar, Japanese, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche, Smart, VW, Swedish Takeover, Aston Martin). The Beaulieu Supercar Weekend will return in 2027 with dates to be announced.
Places to stay
The Beaulieu Estate offers a range of accommodation. The Master Builder's House Hotel at Buckler's Hard is a 26-bedroom country house with views over the Beaulieu River. Leygreen Farmhouse is a Victorian B&B with six en-suite rooms half a mile from the entrance. Self-catering options include Balthazar Cottage in Buckler's Hard, Orchard Cottage at Thorns Beach (sleeps 4), Crow's Nest Cabin (sleeps 2), Old Telephone Exchange and Duke's Bath House at Buckler's Hard. Camping is available through Camping in the New Forest, which runs Forestry England's ten New Forest campsites.
Final thoughts
Beaulieu packs 800 years of history, one of the world's great motoring collections, a Victorian stately home, a 13th-century abbey, a vast adventure playground, formal gardens, a mile-long monorail, the famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, and a year-round programme of motoring rallies, theatre, autojumbles and family events into a single New Forest estate. Whether you are a petrol head chasing the latest supercar at the Supercar Weekend, a parent looking for a school-holiday day out, a history buff tracing the SOE agents of World War Two, or a Lewis Carroll fan following the Alice trails, there is something here for you. Pre-booking online is the cheapest way to visit, and a one-day ticket is unlikely to be enough. Most visitors find that half a day at minimum is the sensible starting point, and Beaulieu's Return For Free offer makes a two-day visit straightforward outside major event days.