National Trust Members?

Hey Guys, we just got back from our holiday in Cornwall on Friday. It was absolutely brilliant. I had never been and hubby had never been so far south. We went to the Penzance area and did all the sites around including St Ives, Marazion (St Michael's Mount), Lands End, etc. It really was gorgeous.

Anyway, our neighbours at the campsite were National Trust Members and were talking to us about it and how they got into several different places for no cost and free parking. Now we are thinking of getting a family membership and I'm wondering if anyone here has one. Do you use it enough to make the cost worth while? It seems wonderful, but I just want everyone's opinion that has one.

I'm not currently in the UK so no longer have NT membership. However my brother does, and recoups the annual family fee in parking charges alone at the beach near his home.

His great tip is to join online as there is usually an offer, and to rejoin yearly, waiting a couple of weeks after your membership expiry date to be eligible for any new offer.

I live in St. Ives (you should have stopped in for tea!) and we don't belong to the National Trust - but only because there are very few NT properties in our area. It really wouldn't pay for us to be members. But if we lived somewhere with lots of stately homes, etc. that we wanted to take friends and family to when they were visiting, we would definitely join!

We bought a membership last year and have used it a few times. I do feel it is good value for money. What's nice is that we were able to do it with a direct debit spread out over three payments. And it's set to renew like that.

I live in St. Ives (you should have stopped in for tea!) and we don't belong to the National Trust - but only because there are very few NT properties in our area. It really wouldn't pay for us to be members. But if we lived somewhere with lots of stately homes, etc. that we wanted to take friends and family to when they were visiting, we would definitely join!

Oh my I'm so jealous! Its so gorgeous down there! Both hubby and I said we could have spent forever there!

I have friends who are members and they think it's brilliant. They do live in an area where there are a lot of properties and they have a car, so they can actually visit lots of places. Many of the places charge for parking and members park for free, so that alone made it worth it to them.

My husband and I are members, and it's a great thing to be part of.

Free parking and access aside, membership also goes towards protecting, preserving and restoring some of the most sensitive landscapes and habitats in Britain as well as keeping country houses, which would otherwise be bought up by the super-rich, open to everyone.

That said, if you have younger children, English Heritage might be a better choice because they curate the castles and ruins that are great for younger ones to run around in and explore!

I would do if there were more national trust propeties around here. But there are not and it's not worth it.  

However, I am a Historic Scotland member and that is absolutely brilliant. It's £36 a year for a single membership (no idea on the family, couples, etc) and it's so worth it.  Historic Scotland has all kinds of events, which is great as a member because its free, but you'd normally pay £8, £10, £15 to go to these things.  
We've been to a few midevil things and then over the weekend to a Celebration of the Centuries -complete with a Spitfire display.  I've had various folks visit and its great to just show the card to the properties.  You also get 10% off in the gift shops, cafes, etc.Not to mention you get into English Heritage properties for free (first year member is only 1/2 off though)

We will often just pop into Urqhart Castle to use their cafe, because its lovely to have soup (at 10% off!)  whilst looking over castle ruins and Loch Ness or into Ft. George for dolphin/whale watching.  

I don't know if English Heritage offers the same kind of things, but its definitely worth it if they do!  

I have one, and it is great - even if we are broke (which is often - lol), we have free access to so many cool cultural places!

We are in London, so there are plenty of places to use it, in London, or just around us!

We got it as a gift from my in laws, so I never considered the 'worth' aspect of it, and I do not know how much it costs, but, we get into so many places for free or super discounted, and we get to park for free.

Unless the membership is super expensive I would say it is very worth it!

I think it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me.

My In-Laws are members and MiL seems to love it.

We have a couple membership and have got our money's worth.  We have a few properties nearby but we really get the use when we holiday in the Lake District or the northeast.

Hubby's uncle has an English Heritage membership but we haven't bothered as there's only one property near us.

So worth looking into the various ones depending on where you live and where you are likely to holiday.

yes we belong to the trust for almost two years now.......this year we havent used as much due to weather but yes it has been so worth it to us

We've had a National Trust membership for years.  I think we joined when we visited St. Michael's Mount off Penzance.    We've gotten a lot of use out of it, visiting properties all over the UK.  This spring we rented a deeply discounted holiday cottage in Wales through NT and it was great.   It was the nicest holiday cottage we've ever had and at a decent rate. A few weeks ago we went to see Stonehenge (English Heritage site) and when we got there we found out that NT members get free admission there too - yay!

A few weeks ago we went to see Stonehenge (English Heritage site) and when we got there we found out that NT members get free admission there too - yay!

ooh that's good to know

We are NT members and use our membership a lot. We are also English Heritage members, and have run into several sites that accept either membership for free entry.

Another membership to consider is The Art Fund, which gets you free or discounted entry into lots of museums and also a number of historic houses and properties. The Art Fund uses its money to buy art works for the nation; it has saved quite a few Rembrandts and the like from leaving the UK.