Mini Cooper Day at Beaulieu

Beaulieu is the home of Lord Montagu. It is a stately home that has been opened up to the public. The grounds house the National Motor Museum, the house, Beaulieu Abbey and a whole host of other motoring attractions. There is also a large amount of ground that had been handed over to the Mini Cooper Register for the day to host the Mini Cooper Day. Although it's a Cooper day it is open to any mini and everyone is welcome. We arrived at around 10.30 and the place was already three quarters full. There was a large roped off area for the Concourse cars and I have to admit that they were of the highest standard I have ever seen.

They were all totally spotless and varied a fair bit, from a supercharged Cooper up to today's new releases like the 40th Anniversary. Lots of famous cars were also there, the one that stuck in my mind was the Mini Spider, red with Pinafarina badges on the sides. The event has a much more relaxed atmosphere than the London to Brighton. Maybe it's the run that makes that a bit hyper. There were loads of people selling bits from the boot of their cars and generally it was very cheep. I didn't have the money to go mad but did buy two Unipart oil filters for £3.95 and a steering lowering bracket for £3.00.

The Listers met up at Midday and reported their findings. I asked Scott where his Fiesta was parked, so I could take some pictures for this page and he almost disappeared, never to be seen again (that day). I'll get that picture another day. The museum was great, featuring two mini's, a saloon and a van. I took a picture but I've forgotten the details. The sun shone all day and in all it was a great day, and well worth the 280 mile round trip.

www.beaulieu.co.uk