ONE of Hampshire's top attractions has devised a model way of entertaining visitors when it reopens toda after more than three months in lockdown.

The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, is staging a new exhibition called Motoring in Miniature - the Toys of Your Childhood, which features hundreds of exhibits dating from the 1920s onwards.

One of Lord Montagu's pedal cars was modelled on a vintage London bus and is among the items on show.

A spokesperson for the award-winning museum said: "Visitors will be able to relive the joy and excitement of their childhood.

"The exhibition showcases more than 800 toy cars and pedal cars to celebrate miniature motoring memories and much-loved playthings of the past.

"Most of us have early motoring memories from before we learned to drive – the shiny toys we gazed at in the toy shop window and spent hours ‘driving’ across the living room carpet.

"The exhibition is packed with toy cars of all shapes and sizes from the 1920s to the 1990s."

Exhibits include small versions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the record-breaking Golden Arrow and the iconic Austin J40.

Examples of toy cars made by internationally-renowned brands such as Scalextric, Corgi and Dinky are also on view.

The spokesperson added: "The miniatures are displayed decade by decade, showing how they developed from crude toys to sophisticated replicas.

"From the largest child-sized racing car to the smallest Matchbox toy, each one has been painstakingly cleaned in readiness to go on display."

The museum has introduced a raft measures aimed at keeping staff and visitors safe from coronavirus.

It has gained the "We’re Good To Go" mark, which Visit Britain awards to attractions that are following Covid-19 guidelines and are able to preserve social distancing.

All visitors must pre-book to prevent the site from becoming overcrowded.

The museum says it has enough parking to enable families to park safely but they will have to leave a two-metre gap between their car and neighbouring vehicles.

The Little Beaulieu fantasy play park, which opened just before the lockdown, will remain shut for the time being.