I notice with the NT you get acccess to all the NT for Scotland properties as well does anyone know if this works in reverse? Although would seem better deal for NT as NTS is £77 for family membership.
Yes you can use your membership in any of the English properties too. I joined NTS , even though I live in England, as it was cheaper and was able to go to properties in both countries
The nice thing about membership of these organisations is that even if you don't use it often for admission, the fee really helps to preserve the beautiful heritage that we have - even if you only join for one year.
I am going to join, but will leave it until I go somewhere that is owned by NT and then make the most of it for a year or maybe two. then i might join the English Heritage or some other organisation.
This year for Christmas we were given membership of a Wolf sanctuary and will be visiting that occasionally.
We also occasionally use an NT or EH property as a stopping off point for a break/lunch when we're en route somewhere, breaks the journey up nicely, and you get to see something interesting.
As someone else has said it's not just about 'getting your money's worth; it's a worthwhile charity. Having said that we did join the NT but did not rejoin because of the cost. However a couple of years later we joined the Scottish National Trust which is cheaper, and gives access to NT as well. Do we get our money's worth - no we don't; will we join again this year, probably. Digressing slightly, membership of the Royal Horticultural Society gives the member and one guest free entry to their gardens - we certainly do get full value from Mrs F's membership; so if you like gardening join the RHS
We've been members before then cancelled as we were'nt using it enough. This year we are going to Ord House in July and have already decided to join again as we will more than cover the cost as we plan to visit most of the properties in the area. Then we will have access to anything else for 'free' for the rest of the year.
Like Fudge we use National Trust properties instead of service stations. In fact a couple of times we've shown our membership cards, used the loos and gone straight back out. But if you can stop at somewhere with a garden and the weather is nice it's great for the whole family to stretch their legs. Also, the NT has great baby changing facilities - often with spare nappies, wipes etc in case you've run out.
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May 1st-3rd Bedfordshire
Summer 2009 - somewhere by the sea
July 2010 Keswick Convention - WhooHooo
HappieAnnie took the words out of my mouth - we do just that ... plan our journey so that there is a break at a NT property. On occasions we have only stopped for 10 mins to use the loo, let the kids have a quick run and get a coffee or ice cream. On the other hand, on our way to cheddar last year we stopped at Stourhead and were still there 3 hours later! Also, these days most houses have guides or room attendants who are more child orientated. Mine have been kept well occupied looking for secret passages etc.
Quote: Originally posted by Tessa on 27/1/2009
They will provide you with a car sticker to display which enables you to park free. Make sure you've got it in the right car if you're a two car family.
If you ask they will post you another sticker for your second car FOC. I have done this every year we jhave been members. Apparantly they cannot automatically send you two as the stickers are inside the guide so I was told to ring up each year.
We try and use ours as much as possible while out and about camping. Some places are good, some brilliant, some a little disappointing. Even if we didn't cover the cost of membership for a year, at least the money we paid goes towards keeping some of UK's best place exactly that. Without the NT so many places would simply be in ruins.
Also if you travel a lot like a friend of ours, he finds it useful for toilet stops or simply just somewhere to stop on route for a short break.
------------- Why yearn for tomorrow when you can have chocolate today.
Membership of the National Trust has saved me more than the cost of joining although I did tend to go a bit wild for a start, visiting as many places as possible. The locations give the opportunity of enhancing a planned trip.
To make it even better value, register with the Quidco site and get a healthy discount off membership if using their site to access the National Trust site. Take a look, you'll see what I mean.