Bond in Motion

Yes, it had to happen - I've been to Bond in Motion at Beaulieu... 

Well, we were on a family holiday to Weymouth, in luvverly Dawsett... (Sorry, Dorset) we took in various stuff such as the SeaLife Centre and, my wife being the understanding person she is (She understood if I didn't get to see BIM there would be words. Including 'please', 'I'll stop wearing socks in bed' and 'Jane Norman handbag?, of course darling...') 

Well, of course it was brilliant - how could they go wrong? - this place is a petrol head's nirvana anyway, one of my fondest memories as a kid was seeing Bluebird there - it hadn't changed that much either. O.k. there was lots of new stuff; a ride called 'Wheels' that took you through motoring history, a vintage garage that was like being in a time machine and the incredibly-fun and nil-educational value World of Top Gear... (Which was actually better than I expected, with plenty of cars from the show's zanier moments and an exclusive video presentation in the 'Enormodrome' that was laid out to evoke the studio-setting of the show)

The actual Bond in Motion exhibition is in a purpose-built two-storey construction, you go in through a ramp and straight off you are in another world - you really need to be a 007 fan to get the experience I had, but I'd recommend this to anyone. There are screens at strategic places showing the vehicles in their respective films, but you hardly even notice them; because the real cars/vehicles are in front of you. I can't emphasise or describe this clearly enough; you are within breathing distance of cinematic history, quite literally - I touched several of the exhibits just to be sure they were actually there.

As you might have noticed already, the scope of Bond in Motion dips a toe into the literary Bond, with the 'blower Bentley' of the type 007 drove in the books, plus models and props that you recognise with 'oohs' and 'aahs' of delight.

My favourites?, well, all of it really - but Blofeld's batho-sub from Diamonds, the Glastron-Carlson boat from Moonraker and the Aston from The Living Daylights stood out for me. I'd move in, really...

Sadly, all good things... it all ends on January 5th 2014 (Extended for a year due to popular demand!, plus three new additions; the bikes and landrover from Skyfall...). I know; they'll turn out more of these sort of things, but this is a unique chance for those lucky enough to take it. Ooh, look, a website;
http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/attractions/bond-in-motion

That's all the clean ones - the rest are sub-judice, apparently images of a naked man smeared in super-glue and leaping onto an Aston Martin are offensive; who knew?. And from that disturbing image, I spotted another old favourite from my childhood - one that Ian Fleming would have appreciated perhaps more than most...

...Oh, and yes, they even have a monorail.
http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/attractions/bond-in-motion