Beaulieu tells us…
‘Don’t be late for a very important date…’
(All words and photographs from Beaulieu).
Work has started on the creation of an imaginary world to transform Palace House at Beaulieu into Alice’s Christmas Wonderland for a magical festive themed experience.
Designers extraordinaire Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie, and their talented CLW Event Design team, have been making fantastic creations for an explosion of colour in the Mad Hatter’s hat shop, a Queen of Hearts’ centrepiece and the entrance to ‘tumble down the rabbit hole’.
Get curiouser and curiouser as behind-the-scenes work is taking place off-site, before theatrical installations, immersive soundscapes and multi-colour projections are installed around the stately rooms later this year. See it starting to take shape here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NP_2tupJA90
Alice’s Christmas Wonderland will open from Saturday 21st November – Sunday 3rdJanuary (excluding Christmas Day) for Beaulieu’s fabulous festive experience for 2026.
Book tickets now to be one of the first to enter Lewis Carroll’s fantastical world, with lavish decorations and festive twinkling lights at every turn. Use this code to save 15% before September 30th: FESTIVE15*
Follow in Alice’s footsteps
Expect to see a life-size Caterpillar on a five-foot toadstool, the grinning Cheshire Cat and the maddest tea party ever – with festive twists around each corner. And don’t miss flamingo mallets and fluorescent ‘hedgehog’ balls set on a topiary floor for a game of croquet in the Motoring Room.
Hunt for Christmas trees decorated with fairy woodland toadstools, cascading playing cards and pastel-coloured butterflies, as well as Beaulieu’s 20ft Wonderland-themed real tree at the foot of the grand staircase. You can even take a little of the magic home with you, from the tempting range of the Wonderland-themed baubles and decorations on sale in the Palace House gift shop.
You may be lucky to meet live characters to entertain you along your way**. Then put yourself in Alice’s shoes for ‘end-of-pier’ peep-throughs to capture memories with a selfie.
Complete your festive journey with a Wonderland Tea & Treats, with delicious heart-shaped scones with cream and jam, cakes and sandwiches all served on an Alice in Wonderlandstand in the historic abbey Domus – and add a celebratory glass of Prosecco.***
It’s your chance to follow in the footsteps of the real Alice – Alice Liddell – who was a guest at a tea party at Palace House to celebrate the coming of age of the Hon John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, the 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu in 1887.
Design Director Adrian Lillie, from CLW Event Design, said: “Our team is having a lot of fun designing each space in Palace House to present all the best known and favourite characters from the Alice story . . . not just Alice, the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit but also room schemes dedicated to the Queen of Hearts, the Caterpillar and Cheshire Cat. And just wait for the maddest tea party ever staged!”
CLW Event Design’s team of theatre designers and artists has created award-winning installations at heritage properties across the UK, including Kensington Palace, Belvoir and Bamburgh castles, Treasure House Castle Howard and the National Trust’s Polesdon Lacey. They return to Beaulieu for the second time this year.
Book tickets now
A Palace House Christmas 2026 – Alice’s Christmas Wonderland ticket includes entry to Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum with new gallery Driven: Britain’s Motoring Story, We Had One Of Those, fun adventure playground Little Beaulieu, 13th century Beaulieu Abbey, the Secret Army Exhibition, unlimited rides on the tree-top monorail and beautiful grounds and gardens.
For details and tickets to A Palace House Christmas at Beaulieu in the New Forest, Hampshire see www.beaulieu.co.uk or call 01590 612345.
Please note:
* Offer ends 30th September at 11.59pm. Offer cannot be used against Wonderland Tea and Treats. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. One use per transaction. Beaulieu reserves the right to withdraw the offer at any time.
** See real life characters during weekends and school holidays.
*** Wonderland Tea & Treats bookable alongside your Alice’s Christmas Wonderlandtickets.
