Beaulieu

Today we visited the estates of Lord Montague at Beaulieu. This consisted of the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Abbey, the home of the present Lord Montague called the Palace, the former Secret army headquarters and a special Top Gear exhibit.

With over 250 vehicles the National Motor Museum tells the story of motoring on British roads and racetracks. The museum was beautifully set out and the really old cars were works of art.

Of course there had to be an old Landrover!

Hey Ash how would you like to drive this one?

 

 

Geoff got a bit 'teary' with a car so much like his old beloved Mini!

 

The Palace was originally part of Beaulieu Abbey and was bought by Thomas Wriothesley in 1538 following the Dissolution of he Monasteries and is still occupied and owned by his descendants.

The house was built into the remains of the gatehouse of the Abbey. The house was extend in the 16th century and again in Victorian times.

 

 

 

 

This exhibition tells the story of the British and overseas members of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) who completed their secret training at the Beaulieu ‘Finishing School’ during World War ll.It's amazing to think this quiet Hampshire village became the base for sabotage and subversion during the war. He exhibition covers the training schools, instructors, secret agents and unsung heroes of the SOE.

Some 3,000 agents, including Andrée Borrell, Nancy Wake, Odette Sansom, Peter Churchill, Francis Cammaerts and Joachim Rønneberg, who later led the Gunnerside Mission to destroy the heavy water plant in Norway that was part of the German atomic bomb programme, were trained at a number of large country houses scattered across the Beaulieu Estate, before returning to occupied Europe to work with Resistance groups. Many paid the final sacrifice – and did not return.

They had some cars on display that had been used in famous films and TV shows

From one of the James Bond movies

Mr Bean's car with the padlocked door.

There was an amazing Top Gear exhibit which displayed many of the vehicles used in their crazy stunts on he show.

 

 

Last stop for the day was Maiden Castle near Dorchester. It was very cold and windy but we still walked up on the top of it.

Among the largest and most complex of Iron Age hillforts in Europe, Maiden Castle’s huge multiple ramparts once protected several hundred residents. Excavations in the 1930s and 1980s revealed the site's 4,000-year history, from a Neolithic causewayed enclosure to a small Roman temple built on the site in the fourth century AD. They also produced evidence of an extensive late Iron Age cemetery, where many of the burials had suffered horrific injuries in attacks or skirmishes. Look out for the information panels that guide you around the hillfort and illustrate its long history.

The scenery from Dorchester to Honiten was just iconic English scenery. Beautiful green fields and enclosures and coastline scenery, small idyllic old villages dotted along the road. Wish we had more time to stop and explore but it was getting onto 7pm so time to stop for night.