ONE of the New Forest's top tourist attractions is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The award-wining Exbury Gardens, near Beaulieu, has been a major crowd-puller since the Queen Mother performed the opening ceremony in 1955.

Last year more than 138,000 people poured through the gates, including the Queen, who was given a private tour.

The garden was created by banker Lionel de Rothschild in the 1920s and is famous for its stunning displays of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons.

Now the 200-acre site will mark its golden jubilee by staging a series of special events, including a play based on the novel Requiem for a Wren, written by Nevil Shute, who was based at Exbury during the build-up to the D-Day landings in June 1944.

During the play, veteran troop carriers will take the audience to various locations at Exbury and Lepe that are featured in the novel.

Exbury staff are also planning to celebrate the success of the narrow gauge steam railway that takes visitors on a tour of the gardens. Unlimited rides on the train and a chance to drive the engine are among the opportunities on offer.

Other events will include three New Forest breakfast walks, enabling visitors to sample local produce after enjoying a morning stroll around the gardens.

Exbury's new-look tea room and restaurant will be called Mr Eddy's, after Edmund de Rothschild, head of the Exbury branch of the Rothschild family.

Mr de Rothschild recalled the day when Exbury House became HMS Mastodon.

He said: "My father died in 1942 and I was suddenly summoned to Exbury. A man from the Admiralty told me the house was being requisitioned and said 'Can you get out in 48 hours?'.

"Luckily the Royal Navy were very good tenants and didn't allow any flowers to be picked in the gardens.

"When we opened in 1955 there was a queue of cars that stretched back to Dibden Purlieu. The police got very anxious."

EXBURY FACTFILE:

EXBURY Gardens has been owned by the same family for almost 90 years.

Lionel de Rothschild bought the house from the Mitford family in 1919 and created the gardens using plants he had collected from all over the world.

When the site first opened to the public, visitors who wanted a cup of tea had to travel on to Beaulieu, four miles away.

Exbury plants regularly win prizes at top shows across the country.

As well as the flowers, visitors can also enjoy guided walks, evening concerts, plays and themed festivals.

The steam railway opened in 2001 and now carries more than 50,000 passengers a year.