When visiting the south-east it's all too easy to get sucked into the cultural mecca that is London and miss out on the region's myriad other museums and exhibitions. Hampshire may be largely rural but it packs a cultural punch well above its regional weight, with museums offering everything from hands-on discoveries to interactive events, and all without the crowds and queues of London's big hitters.
Winchester is known for its tranquil market-town atmosphere and stately architecture but this was once one of England's mightiest cities, home to King Alfred the Great and capital of the powerful state of Wessex.
Founded for Alfred's burial in 1110, over the years Winchester's Hyde Abbey became one of the richest and most powerful monastic houses in England. It was destroyed during the Reformation but its remains can be seen in King Alfred Place and Hyde Abbey Garden. To mark the abbey's 900th birthday, the gallery at the Winchester Discovery Centre is staging the Treasures of Hyde Abbey. This colourful exhibition will give visitors the chance to discover the abbey and the people who lived in and around it through numerous interactive displays, and for the first time in five centuries, the abbey's collection of late Saxon and medieval treasures will return to their original home to be exhibited in one place. Alongside the exhibition, a range of events and tours, including calligraphy demonstrations, the making of a Saxon supper, and workshops in conserving artefacts, will be taking place throughout March and April to help visitors appreciate the area's long history and celebrate their place within it.
Winchester is also home to the Westgate Museum, a small but engaging museum located inside the fortified gateway. Previously a prison for the drunk and disorderly and a debtors' gaol, this 12th-century structure has been used as a repository for the city archives since 1898 and today displays a famous collection of pre-imperial weights and measures and a fine painted ceiling created to celebrate the marriage of Queen Mary I to Philip of Spain in the city in 1554.
In Basingstoke, Milestones museum offers the chance to experience the past first-hand. Visitors encounter a rare opportunity to step back in time at this living museum, exploring how ordinary people used to live by walking the network of historic streets, complete with shops, a village green and even the local pub, and hearing the stories of the costumed characters who play the part of those who used to live here. Exhibits range from the Victorian era to the 1930s and include more than 20,000 objects, from tin openers to vintage vehicles, all either made or used in Hampshire.
Milestones is also home to an ongoing events programme. One of the best places in Hampshire to get involved in National Science and Engineering Week (12–21 March), Milestones will be offering Dirt, Dust and Detergent: The Science of Cleaning Activities throughout the week, giving visitors the chance to join one of the museum's keepers and learn about how science and technology have helped us to keep our homes clean throughout history.
National Science and Engineering Week will also be marked at Basingstoke's Willis Museum where the launch will be celebrated with a display of Thornycroft historic vehicles. On Saturday 20 March the history of this once-grand Tudor mansion will be explored through The Science of Basing House, an illustrated talk focusing on the archaeological work that has taken place here. Finds from the excavations will be on show and children will be tested with a quiz.
But visitors needn't stick to the major towns to enjoy National Science and Engineering Week. In Andover there will be a rare chance to see the last C-class steam roller ever made by local manufacturers Tasker outside the Andover Museum; while in Alton the Curtis Museum will host a Basingcroft-built Thornycroft petrol tanker.
Hampshire has a long history of producing important machinery. On the banks of the Beaulieu river the now-peaceful 18th-century village of Buckler's Hard was once a thriving shipbuilding centre, seeing production of the warships for Nelson's navy. Visitors can explore the historic cottage displays to discover how the locals would have lived in the early 1800s and call in to the New Inn to hear 1790s gossip, before paying a visit to the Maritime Museum to uncover the village's history, including its role in the D-Day landings, and to view Nelson memorabilia and other artefacts.
More maritime memories are on display at Portsmouth Historic Dockland. Exert some energy by climbing aboard the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860 and testing your naval skills with Action Stations, or simply sit back and enjoy the view on a Harbour Tour.
Whatever you're looking for from your next break, with so much going on in Hampshire's museums, you're sure to find it.
For more information on Hampshire, visit visit-hampshire.co.uk
Beaulieu national motor museum
Love all things motor-related? Whether pottering around town or cruising along the motorway, huge numbers of us relish the joy of getting behind the wheel and hitting the gas. But why are so many of us obsessed with a simple form of transport?
Find out at Beaulieu's National Motor Museum, the UK's leading motoring attraction, where more than 250 vehicles from every era of motoring, from the 18th-century Daimler Cannstatt horseless carriage to the 21st-century Formula One racing car, tell the story of motoring in Britain from the earliest pioneers to the present day.
Begin your visit in the Birth of Motoring gallery where early prototypes of the car are on display before discovering why the Edwardian period's boom in individually designed vehicles has led to its moniker, "the age of elegance". Progress through history to the Pre-War Motoring For All area which explores the battle to produce the first £100 car, before returning to modern times in the Post-War Mass Motoring exhibition which shows how motoring finally smashed through the class barrier. The history of motor racing is told in the Racing and Sports Cars gallery where several fine specimens are on display, while the Land Speed Record Breakers area is home to the largest collection of land speed record breakers in the world. Motorbike aficionados will love the Graham Walker gallery which explores the story of motoring's two-wheelers, while commercial transport is lovingly paid tribute to in the Station Road Commercial Vehicles zone.
For something a little more interactive, climb into a space-age pod to experience Wheels, a dark ride through motoring history from the very first caveman-made wheels to a vision of what the future may hold for our most beloved form of transport.
The National Motor Museum also hosts a range of temporary exhibitions and currently visitors can explore the impact of the motor vehicle on British leisure time in High Days and Holidays. Using hundreds of objects, photographs and books, this exhibition helps visitors to explore why caravanning is so mysteriously popular, see how the growth of motoring changed the British seaside forever and rediscover the dying skill of how to find your way without a satnav.
Beaulieu is also home to the World of Top Gear, a collection of the battered and modified cars that have met with a somewhat sticky and often ruinous end in the name of TV entertainment. Visitors can see the Vietnam bikes ridden by Jeremy, James and Richard from Saigon to Halong Bay, the indestructible Hilux which lived up to its name, the amphibious cars that (almost) crossed the Channel and the stretch limos that failed to deliver a trio of celebs to last year's Brit Awards. Clips from the show can also be seen, as well as a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the show's production office.
With so much to discover, the National Motor Museum is sure to thrill even the most ardent of anti-car activists, and leave motoring enthusiasts even more in love with their four-wheeled steel companions than ever before – and that's well worth a tank of gas.
For more information, visit beaulieu.co.uk. Once you've explored Beaulieu, why not extend your weekend with a stay at the Master Builders at Bucklers Hard (themasterbuilders.co.uk), and take in the nearby Exbury Gardens (exbury.co.uk)
Year of the museum
Think museums are all dusty repositories of dull texts and dreary photographs? Think again. Museums have really moved with the times and today offer so much more than glass cases and information boards. The south-east is home to more than 300 museums, and the region has something to offer everyone, from living museums to interactive galleries, hands-on exhibits to thrilling rides and adventures.
Kids will love the Oxford Museum of Natural History and the Dinosaur Isle Museum on the Isle of Wight, while literary lovers will be enthralled by the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth and Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire. Sports fans will enjoy Milton Keynes' National Badminton Centre and Henley-on-Thames' River and Rowing Museum, and anyone currently feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch will appreciate those museums offering free admission, such as the RAF Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Trust in Ramsgate, Kent, the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton, and the Museum of Reading.
There's so much to discover in the south-east so whatever you're into, get into a museum – and prepare to be surprised.
