Monday, 1 October 2018

Beaulieu and Lymington

Straight to the New Forest from our Britstop counting ponies, 20 already. Visit to Beaulieu for the house and motor museum. Its a lovely sunny day again visiting the estate.
We spent most of the day at Beaulieu looking round the purpose built National motor museum with its numerous exhibits from the very earliest days of motoring to the present day. The old cars were in immaculate  condition with gleaming  brass fittings and huge  headlights particularly striking. There were well known motors from TV and films, Chitty chitty bang bang to Dell boys yellow Reliant Robin. There was a separate show of the mad cars from Top Gear including the amphibious Triumph Herald with its Mirror dinghy sails and the old people's car.

Then we walked back to look at the remaining parts of the first Cistertian in England Abbey. It's mostly ruined but the old refectory is now the village parish church and the lay lodgings are the abbey museum. The gardens have a wonderful topiary scene of the mad hatter's tea party. The original girl who inspired Alice is believed to be from nearby Lymington.
We are staying one night in Lymington on the coast, on a cheap commercial site, before moving to Brockenhurst in the new forest tomorrow.

We took a ride on the vintage bus to view the palace which is no longer occupied by the Montagu family and actually had the first motor museum  in its front rooms.The present Lord now lives in a 12 bedroom lodge on the estate apparently.

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