National Trust Membership

Smurphington

Hi ,
I'm considering asking for one of the above for my birthday but I'm unsure whether it would be worth it as I don't drive and so use trains to get around. Does anyone have experience of this? Are most national trust places quite easily accessible

Ilona

In my opinion it wouldn't be worth it, but it depends where you live, easy access to a train station, and how many places are within say a 50 mile radius. You can check out the location of their properties on their web site.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/search?view=map

You might spend 2 or 3 hours on a train, then maybe change to a bus, get there early afternoon and only have 2 or 3 hours there, then that long traipse back home, unless you are staying overnight at a B & B.

I have considered getting a membership, but decided not to bother, and I drive. There are none within an hours drive of where I live, I wouldn't get my moneys worth out of it.

Ilona

THIRZAH

We do belong but I'm not sure if it would be worth it if you don't have a car. We often visit Lyme Park which is NT and costs about £7 to park and do a walk from there but only visit other properties two or three times a year.

Hermia

Smurphington wrote: »

Hi ,
I'm considering asking for one of the above for my birthday but I'm unsure whether it would be worth it as I don't drive and so use trains to get around. Does anyone have experience of this? Are most national trust places quite easily accessible

I used to always have NT membership when I had a car and it was really worth it then. Now I don't have a car it definitely isn't. There are loads of NT places around where I live but only one is easily accessible by public transport. It is such a palaver getting to the other properties that I know I probably would not go enough times to warrant the membership price. BTW, some National Trust properties will give you money off the entrance price or the cafe/shop if you have proof you got there via public transport so always keep hold of your bus/train ticket.

Farway

I've got a car, but as others say, depends where you live. There are not any NT properties around here that could easily be reached by public transport, and many are in countryside, so even bus services could be problematic

Smurphington

I'm in lincoln so think perhaps I am a bit far away from most

grunnie

Smurphington wrote: »

Hi ,
I'm considering asking for one of the above for my birthday but I'm unsure whether it would be worth it as I don't drive and so use trains to get around. Does anyone have experience of this? Are most national trust places quite easily accessible

How often do you visit a National Trust property? If you have been to several in the last year I would say yes get one but if you haven't visited in the last few years then it's a no.

PasturesNew

As others have said, it depends.

Some NT properties put on a lot of "free stuff" that might be relevant to your interests - and if that's 1-2 miles away then you can "pop in" almost every week ... some do nothing.

For me, my nearest actual building is about 30 miles away - and if I went there I'd have seen it/done it, so wouldn't need to go back to see it again.....

For some, they have handy car parks - for others they have no car and the car parks aren't handy for anything except visiting the NT.

How many times have you been to, or actually really WANTED to go to an NT property in the last 3 years?

You might be better off, as a gift, picking one you do want to go to and stating as your gift "A day out at XYZ, including tea/cake at their coffee shop and a lift there/back". One good experience you can enjoy, rather than a bit of card in your wallet that festers.

sillyvixen

We have national trust membership and most places we have visited are way off the beaten track, so without a car would be completely inacessable to us.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Never. I don't visit NT properties and pay charity tax to keep the rich in their house rent free.

Nick_C

For anyone who does want to visit a lot of NT properties, it is cheaper to join the Scottish (or NZ) NT and visit the English properties through the reciprocal arrangements.

I cancelled my NT membership as the cost was going up each year by more than inflation.