Our last day out before we went into lockdown last March, was to Beaulieu in Hampshire, for the grand opening of Little Beaulieu. We had a wonderful time and throughout lockdown, I looked back on this day with fondness of our last taste of normality.
A couple of weeks ago Beaulieu re-opened and we were excited to be invited back and see how they have made it covid safe. Beaulieu is in the New Forest and it’s always a lovely drive, the girls love seeing all the ponies along the side of the roads.
At the moment, like many places you need to pre-book your tickets, you can select your arrival time and you’re welcome to stay until it closes. Numbers are limited to ensure it isn’t crowded. We visited in half term and there was no queue when we arrived and it never felt busy anywhere.
We headed straight to Little Beaulieu and they are limiting the number of children allowed in, but you can visit as many times as you want to throughout the day. There is hand sanitiser stations all over Beaulieu.
Little Beaulieu is a brilliant addition and the play area is completely enclosed, which means you don’t have to worry that your child is going to escape. Within Little Beaulieu, there are toilets, a kiosk and a covered seating area.
The girls love the variety within the play area and they are constantly finding new bits within it. Next to the seating area, is a smaller toddler play area which is great for younger children. Plus, behind the large play structure is a trim trail, zip wire and tractor to sit on. Plus more benches to sit on.
It’s hard to get the children to leave Little Beaulieu to look around the rest of Beaulieu!
Beaulieu has lots of beautiful gardens to walk around and Alice always loves to go and find Alice in Wonderland. All the characters are made into hedges. Plus, there is a love lock tree for all the people that have been married at Beaulieu.
We headed to Beaulieu house and went inside to have a look around. There is a one way system around the house and the girls loved to see all the history of Beaulieu. I love how interested they are in learning about places we visit.
We also walked through the Abbey and the rest of the Beaulieu estate. There is an ice cream cottage in the corner and it sells the best New Forest ice cream, with lots of flavours to choose from.
There is an Monorail that takes you from the entrance to over near the house, we didn’t go on it this time, because the stop near the house was closed and it meant we would just end up back at the entrance. It is a lovely way to see Beaulieu from above.
Near the Monorail entrance is the World of Top Gear and On Screen Cars. Alice loved seeing the flying car from Harry Potter and I loved seeing Mr Beans mini.
We also headed to the National Motor Museum. They are restricting numbers and there is a one way system around it. The girls loved seeing all the old cars and bikes, plus the racing cars too.
Beaulieu is one of our favourite days out. There is lots to do and see, the grounds are beautiful and there is plenty of space for everyone. We always take a picnic, but there is a restaurant near the entrance.
Find out more about Beaulieu, visit their website.
Disclosure: We were kindly invited to visit Beaulieu. All views and opinions are my own.
