Having heard good reports about the National Motor Museum and auto jumble at Beaulieu, but never visited, when the opportunity arose to join a Classic Sprite Caravan Rally on the weekend of the Spring Autojumble we were keen to take part. Taking our Sprite Musketeer meant also taking the 2.5S estate so both were got ready for the event. In order to break up the journey, we had a two-night stopover in Chertsey where we caught up with fellow Triumph/Musketeer combo owners Martin and Caroline Feltham, who were also booked into the Sprite Rally.
The journey to Chertsey, and then on to Beaulieu was very straightforward and the Triumph performed well. Arriving at Beaulieu late morning on the Friday meant we had plenty of time to settle in before the majority of participants arrived. We also got a sneak preview of some of the stalls which promised some good pickings for the weekend. Our red wristbands also gave access to the Beaulieu Palace and gardens as well as the National Motor Museum, so of course we took advantage of this.
On Saturday morning the gates opened at 8.30, but access to the autojumble wasn’t until 9am, so Paul took advantage of the red wristband to take a look around the stalls before the crowds hit. The Sprites got a lot of interest in the same 30 minutes. Throughout the day we were able to spend time talking about our ‘vans, with breaks to look around the stalls, the garden and museum, and take a ride on the monorail. Sunday followed a similar pattern and by the time the event closed, Paul had found everything on his ‘wanted’ list. With no stopover on the way back to Norfolk, we left Beaulieu at 5pm, hit a few delays on the M3 and M25, but arrived home with no other issues 6 hours later. The Triumph performed well with towing the caravan and looked great parked up next to the Feltham’s saloon.
