We've spend the day at Beaulieu. Cistercian Abbey, Palace House, National Motor Museum and all that.
We're not big on visiting major attractions, and this is usually the kind of place that is out of our league. It competes on a national level with millions of visitors a year (the largest Attraction in Hampshire by all accounts) rather than the more local places we are used to visiting.
At work, we do a lot of business with them, and they are great supporters of our cause - the visit today (for Elsi and Tx birthdays) was courtesy of a complimentary family ticket sent as a thankyou for the Cruise Terminal installation we arranged a few months ago.
I'm really glad we used the ticket to visit, because we have never been before. It's REALLY expensive to go in otherwise ( family ticket being £48.00!!) and to be honest, ahving been round now, it is over priced and disappointing.
These places often are I think?
While we enjoyed all three of the major sites - the cars, the Abbey and Museum, and the house - there is a general tacky kind of shabbiness about the place that was, admittedly not helped by the steady rain all day. Only one block of toilets, no ramps for pushchairs/wheelchairs, a hugely overpriced restaurant that served crap food.
Cold fish and chips and tea that costs £1.30 a cup!
The vinatge bus ride was too short and really needs bus shelters to at least mark where you catch it, let alone shelter from the rain.
The car collection is seruiously impressive and there are some beautiful machine sin there (my own favourites being any of the black rovers from 1920-1930 and the Rolls Royce Phantom. As well as Dietrich's auburn of course!) I found the racing cars and speed cars less interesting but Stan and Alice loved these.
BUT it all seems quite cramped, and more like a showroom than a museum. You only get one view of most of the cars (from the front) whereas I think it would be better to have them all much more spaced out and some isolated so you can at least walk all round them.
And as for the James Bond Experience, well that is really quite a let down and reminiscent more of a 'cheap' them park than a nationally famous collection. The film clip loop is terribly short, too loud and too small to see properly.
By far better is the Cistrecian Abbey and Museum of Monastic Life, but this was rather spoiled by too many Other People in there, and many of those being less respectful than I would recommend.
The house is wonderful too, but of course more of a challenge for young children. Portraits quickly get boring.
But that's not a problem, because obviously they are trying to cater for all tastes and ages which must be very dfifficult.
I think anyone between about 13 and 20 would find this whole place uninspiring, and even Flo at 10 said she didn't really enjoy much of it.
We can't understand why they offer a season ticket for a year when you can see all they have to offer in two visits.

So disappointing really, if we had paid. There are other places within the same distance that offer much better value for money and generally more Visitor friendly services.