Festive Fun at Beaulieu #ChristmasatBeaulieu

Dear Mummy, we love attending events to get us into the festive spirit and were lucky enough to be invited to Beaulieu. It’s a large estate which is home to the historical Beaulieu Abbey, National Motoring Museum, World of Top Gear and Palace House & Gardens.

Beaulieu is situated within the New Forest National Park and is centred around Beaulieu Abbey, a site built in the 13th century that was ransacked and destroyed by the infamous King Henry VIII in the 1530s. The village is often praised for its beauty and draws tourists all year around.

We were invited to Palace House at Beaulieu to experience a traditional Victorian Christmas, filled with seasonal decorations, Christmas trees and crackling log fires. It was like stepping back in time and we loved how the staff dressed up in period clothing. Check out my video below!

There was definitely a lot of Christmas magic inside Palace House, with burning log fires and Christmas trees in every room. Each one was decorated differently and certainly gave my folks ideas on how to dress their tree next year!

I loved seeing all the traditional rooms and the towering 20ft-tall tree in the main hall. There was a pianist and singer in the Lower Drawing Room performing carols too, which was a lovely treat!

I had lots of fun participating in the Beaulieu Yuletide trail and the free activity sheet was handed to us on arrival and led us on an adventure across the grounds.

The Little Beaulieu play area is perfect for children and was also decorated with gingerbread men and Christmas trees. I spotted Father Christmas driving around the gardens from there! The Little Beaulieu play area is accessible in all weathers and my folks enjoyed a hot cuppa in the sheltered family-friendly seating area while I went crazy on the zip-line and in the giant wooden castle.

I was lucky enough to not only catch a glimpse of Father Christmas but actually meet him and have a chat as he drove around in one of the vehicles from the National Motor Museum. I also had a ride on the double-decker bus that was transporting visitors around the site, which was included in the ticket price.

It was a great day out and there so much included in the Beaulieu admission ticket, which also gives access to the all the attractions on the site, like the Little Beaulieu playground, the monorail, the bus ride, On Screen Cars, World of Top Gear, Palace House, Secret Army exhibition, Beaulieu Abbey and its grounds and gardens and the new exhibition Bond in Motion – No Time To Die.

I was also super impressed by the Beaulieu gift shop! From model cars and motoring mugs to motoring memorabilia, the Beaulieu gift shop has plenty of goodies to tempt any petrol head or car collector! Their range of homeware and toys was pretty epic too!

I loved seeing all the Classic Cars inside the National Motor Museum including the new exhibition Bond in Motion – No Time To Die, and it’s on throughout 2022, so make sure you check it out! We saw props and cars from the new Bond movie! Keep your eyes peeled for my video coming soon on my YouTube Channel – Dear Mummy Blog.

Beaulieu’s Christmas activities are on until the 2 January (10am -5pm) but there’s so much to see and do all year round and we’d definitely recommend it for families. We’ve heard they do a great Easter experience too!

Adult tickets cost £23, and children can get into the site for £12. A family ticket is priced at £59. The festivities will be available from December 18 to January 2, and tickets should be pre-booked online here.

Also, Charles Dickens’ timeless classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ returns to Beaulieu this festive season…Bah Humbug!* On selected dates from 17 December – 2 January,  the London Touring Players will be retelling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. *Separate Charges apply.

Love Bella x

Disclosure: We were kindly invited to Beaulieu National Motor Museum, all footage, photos and opinions are our own.