National Trust or English Heritage?

hilary1

As we've decided not to go abroad next year we are going to have long weekends away instead (3 or 4 nights).

We are thinking of joining the National Trust or English Heritage and wondered what the views are on which one is the best value. I know the joint cost for NT is £51 and £38 each for EH.

Overall, which gives the best value for membership?

We would probably base our weekends to where-ever there was the most places to visit and walks as we have taken up hiking aswell this year.

Anyone know what isnt included in a membership (ie events?)?

loadsacash

As a member of English Heritage, you can have half price admission in any Historic Scotland building for the first year and free admission afterwards.

That would be usefull if you were taking a wee holiday in Scotland

fabwitch_2

We have a family English Hertage card and have just come back from Scotland and like the above post stated you can have half price admission in any Historic Scotland building for the first year and free admission afterwards. As this was our second year we had free admission to all Historic Scotland Building. Edinburge Castle was amazing . I would reccomend the English Hertage care membership.

crimsonmaj

Don't forget to use Tesco points for days out including English Heritage and National Trust in Scotland. Makes me weep when I see people using their clubcard point vouchers in Tesco. Makes their shopping four times the price. We have used deals for meals and days out - means there is cash for other things.

jap200

We have both EH and National Trust Family Membership.

With the NT you pay more for a family membership than a joint adult one. With EH you only need to buy a joint adult membership (or single adult) and up to 6 children are included free. We have taken advantage of this when taking our childrens friends along with us.

Personally, the one to go for depends on what sort of things you like to do and see. I live in Kent, where there are more castles than any other county in the UK and most of these are owned by EH. Some are free entry anyway, but others, such as Dover castle (right on the top of the white cliffs of Dover!) would cost £23.80 for a family entry, but is free to us as members. It is a fantastic day out because it has the 'secret' underground war tunnels as well as the whole of the castle with audio tours and exhibitions. We tend to go there 2-3 times a year!

There are few NT properties in my area, but we tend to use this card when we are travelling in other parts of the UK. The properties tend to be more along the lines of country homes and gardens - which interest my husband and I more than the kids. There are exceptions to this, such as the fantastic Bodium castle in Kent, which is the classic moated castle.

In summary - you need to look at the maps on the websites to find out what sort of places are owned by the NT and EH in the parts of the UK you are likely to visit. You then need to think about what sort of places your family enjoys most and choose accordingly.

I got our EH membership free with my nectar points and we get our NT membership renewed each year as a kind birthday gift from my in-laws.

If you are thinking of places in the UK to visit, then I cannot recommend Kent highly enough. It has so many fantastic things to do and places to visit (sandy beaches, castles, beautiful countryside). We have lived here for almost 5 years now, but I still feel like I'm on holiday!

nickyc_2

as an alternative you could always try a National Trust working holiday... they do short breaks as well as week long breaks. Some of them are hard work but others are helping out at events such as music festivals.

They are all good fun and at the end of the holiday you'll be given a years free membership to the trust as a thank you.