Beaulieu: An English Forest Haven with a Serious Car Problem

Audio By Carbonatix

“Destroy the tires!” shouts a young spectator as a 1969 Ford GT40 screams past me. I am standing at the edge of a rural lane bisecting the grounds of Britain’s National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire. The occasion: Beaulieu’s annual Supercar Weekend in the heart of England’s ancient New Forest National Park.

This Panama hat-toting young reveler’s antics are causing a disturbance among the reserved participants who paid the modest £30 entrance fee. “Burn them!” he shrieks, holding a rather dated-looking camcorder aloft. “More revs, please!” 

At first, his volume makes the congregation of British car enthusiasts somewhat uncomfortable — this is England, after all. Yet, these stoic daytrippers soon warm to his unbridled passion for decibels and burnt rubber tracks. On the subsequent vehicle’s parade, several adherents join his “destroy the tires!” chorus.

Following the Ford is a very modern McLaren Artura. For locals, the McLaren is an icon of pride, manufactured one hour’s drive down the M3 Motorway in Woking, Surrey. It is here where some of the country’s finest car engineering takes place. 

You can hear the gasps as the Artura idles. Its six-valve symphony sends wood pigeons scattering from the row of huge, ancient chestnut trees lining this otherwise timeless country lane. 

Much like their gearhead cousins from across the pond, the British have long had an affinity for combustion engines. However, many also share a love for the English countryside. In Beaulieu, you can enjoy both. 

If you took away all the cars and spectators, you would see an almost perfect postcard image of the English countryside. The Beaulieu Estate is flanked by verdant deciduous forest, meadows, churches, and farms, with country cottages dotted about the surrounding hills. 

At one end of the demonstration run lane sits the partial ruins of Beaulieu Abbey, an 800-year-old monastery, giving the event a distinctly English backdrop. One can only imagine what 13th-century Cistercian monks would have thought seeing these infernal machines burning out tires as their V12s howled across the skies. They might have believed the Rapture was upon them. 

Ironically, Beaulieu’s New Forest surroundings make for one of the best places in England to drive a supercar. Sadly, owners don’t share the enthusiasm for their urban roads, which are some of Europe’s most congested.

“If it isn’t the potholes or bad drivers that get you, it’s the police,” jokes an amiable Ford Mustang GTO owner at the Demo Run Display Field. I ask him what life is like for high-performance motorists in the United Kingdom.

With a wry smile, he highlights the difference between driving in England and on the European continent, preferring the latter option. “People know how to drive in Europe,” he adds. “I think most have forgotten here.” 

Nevertheless, these comments come in jest and with a side dose of sarcasm. Events like the Beaulieu Supercar Weekend are highly anticipated for these road romanticists. Where else can they rub shoulders with kindred spirits while enjoying a day in one of England’s most scenic areas? 

The National Motor Museum is part of the Beaulieu Estate, deep in the heart of the New Forest in the county of Hampshire. Don’t let the car event or National Motor Museum fool you, however. This is some serious English nature; the New Forest has the largest remaining stretch of lowland heath in Western Europe. 

Moreover, the region boasts over 5,000 free-roaming ponies. Curiously, these wild animals are technically owned by Commoners, a local group of forest residents with family ties pre-dating the Maori tribes’ existence in New Zealand.

Furthermore, the New Forest is also one of the oldest surviving forests in England. Established by William the Conqueror in 1079, many of its oldest trees are still standing. The area is a must-see for fans of centuries-old yew and oaks. The forest also retains huge geographical importance for its heathland. 

Local New Forest residents might be overwhelmed by the number of gas-powered invaders each summer. There is irony in seeing all the country’s best rare supercars, modern performance vehicles, and exotic hypercars from all corners of the world converge here. This year’s lineup, featuring names like a Koenigsegg Regera, Aston Martin Valkyrie, and Maserati MC-12, doesn’t disappoint. 

If award-winning supercar weekends aren’t your thing, you can skip the National Motor Museum altogether and enjoy the area of Beaulieu. It’s a more-than-charming example of rural England. For such landscape disciples, the Beaulieu Estate’s long-time custodians, the Montagu family, own one of the world’s rarest treasures: a private river. 

Nonetheless, what makes the Beaulieu River (formerly the Exe) so worthwhile is its final destination. This waterway snakes through the estate grounds and nearby forest, making its way to another local delight, Buckler’s Hard. 

It is hard to describe this estuary hamlet without sounding flowery, but if a town could be the moving version of a Thomas Hardy novel, it is Buckler’s Hard. This South Coast former shipbuilding community still retains its traditional 19th-century appearance. 

It was once a strategic shipbuilding center for the British Navy, including the HMS Agamemnon. The ship was famed for Lord Horatio Nelson’s naval assault on Corsica, a skirmish in which he lost his right eye. 

Although the shipbuilding yard (now a sleek marina) has long gone, the village maintains its appearance through rules that govern its old aesthetic. Buckler’s Hard villagers are forbidden from using cars or bicycles, and television or satellite antennae are also prohibited.

Anything that upsets the old look is not welcome; the result is a visual throwback: two lines of perfectly uniform terrace houses overlooking a lush meadow that disappears into the riverbank. Curating the best version of the past is what makes the New Forest keep its nostalgic beauty, and I am all for it. 

Getting to Beaulieu from London is easy by train, taking roughly two hours, and usually involving one change of carriage. Meanwhile, a bus from London Victoria Coach Station takes around three hours. 

Yet, by far the greatest way to enjoy Beaulieu and the New Forest is by car, of course — better yet, make it a supercar.