National trust and heritage

Rigby46 Scottish National trust may have fewer properties but you use it in England as well . We get free passes with our bank account so have given up our membership but might rejoin .

We were informed last year at a NT information tent that as senior LT members of NT Scotland, we could take our grandchildren into all NT properties for free- something NT England does not allow........Can’t find any information on line about this - can anyone confirm this before I contact both....

Would never give another penny to the National Trust. They got one third of my cousin's sizeable estate as a legacy but tried to block family getting their expenses for doing the work.
Properties are typically only open Easter to October and summer and bank holidays are so crowded it is hardly worth the effort. Our experience in Scotland was much better.

Reading your posts has spurred me to join EH.....never thought of looking into joining anything even though DH and myself go out to places which are run by EH & NT .we been a bit silly their....EH is not too bad a price, DH is over sixty and they do a package adult and senior £81...also shows dog friendly places......thanks for the inspiration guys.....Shirley

If you can stick being.a member for five years overthehill the cost for a single membership is £48.60. You get 25% loyalty discount. Even at full price (64.80 - just looked it up) I don't think it's bad value. Compare it with the price of a shiney magazine or a couple of fancy coffees per month.

We are members of the National Trust. We love it and take full advantage wherever we go. Our DD bought us membership of English Heritage for a year but we found there weren't so many interesting places. Just our opinion of course.

Perhaps if they charged less they would get more members. If it were say £40 then I would rejoin.

We got caught out at Stirling Castle-turned up with NT card to discover it's run by Scottish Heritage and there was no reciprocal agreement. It would have cost £24 for admission! We left and went to Bannockburn instead which is NT administered and does very nice scones!

NTS joint senior membership, at least one member aged over 60, £5.50 a month by Direct Debit, £63 a year DD, £70 a year credit or debit card.

Thanks gilly it sounds lovely

This years NT fee for joint membership was £78. I had intended to cancel as Last year £99, and as has been said on ce you visit those not too far away, and then onc e again in a different season perhaps, you are done.
Trying to make the most of our membership visited scotney castle in kent yesterday and it was a lovely day out.possibly. assisted by wall to wall sunshine which made the gardens even more beautiful.

Members of Scottish NT can visit English properties free too - and the subscription is lower than English NT. You don't have to live in Scotland to join!

Oops sorry just picked up your question janeainsworth it's Paxton House on the Scottish Borders . It sits on the Tweed and is opposite the Honey farm. We spend a lot of time there . The grounds are beautiful all year round. The stately home has guided tours and there is a really good tea room/cafe in the old stables and a nice gift shop too. And the most important thing of all there is a very good adventure play park . They run river trips during the nicer months along the Tweed. You can walk along the river to the Chainbridge and cross to the Honeyfarm . It's only about 5 minutes further north of Berwick and well worth a visit .

I suspose it depends how much you use it, but for us membership has been excellent value. We have a caravan so generally visit several properties in whichever area we're staying in - and generally spend most of a day there. The same with English Heritage although their properties tend more towards ruins than houses so for us the preference is NT. It depends where your interests lie.

NT and ET have charity status. Like the RSPB and local Wildlife Trusts. So joining is like giving to that charity. - with perks! If you don't pay tax, make sure you join at the lower rate, as they always assume you're a tax payer.

However, you still have to pay half the entrance fee in Wales and presumably in Scotland for the first year of membership of EH.

Not too sure if it's been mentioned but if you join English NT you can visit properties in Scotland too. English heritage members can also visit properties in Scotland and Wales.

We joined the Scottish NT last for just £47 for two of us. I'm frugal I have to admit but really you are only getting 6 months as most shut down during the winter months when it would be nice to have somewhere to go. Also once you have viewed the ones you can get to there and back in a day you're done really. From the £47 last year it jumped up to £66 this year so we didn't bother.

Our nearest NT property is Culzean Castle, the Ayrshire Coastal Path runs right through it with a honesty box for you to pay the garden and park entrance fee ! i dont suppose there is much money in the box at the end of each day.

Plus the parking cost has gone up to £5 and there are new swipe machines being installed. Our local NT Pile used to only charge for the main car park and the three others which were for walking on the estate were free, but not any more.

Usually it take four visits to get your money back if your join an organisation. We're members of NT and EH although I volunteer for NT so could get in free, it enables me to take a friend free (volunteering for NT is worth it - free entry plus 20% off shop, restaurants, etc)

NT for Scotland one of couple only has to be over 60 for senior membership. Joint is £5.50 per month - would have to consider the extra parking costs from next year.

Purple where you able to add him onto a senior membership?

I agree with Gillybob about checking what there is locally for both organisations. We joined English Heritage only to find very little apart from odd bits of wall locally. We made a special trip to the Isle of Wight to visit Osborne House and then did not renew. NT has several gardens and houses nearby so we get value from our membership. For an extra £5 we were able to add both grandchildren, providing ages and names! One lives in Australia so he hasn't had any trips, however we have taken the local one to Clairmont at Esher often. There is a good playground, a lake with black swan and ducks and they also do special events like falconry displays. Worth £5 extra a year!

The NT senior discount only applies I think if you've been members for five years but with EH is just based on being 60 or over. I think the price difference between Scottish and English NT is wrong - is it cheaper in Scotland because there are less properties?

NT cards can be used in many different countries.It is always worth checking if any country you are visiting is on the list.

Join both, but if you need to choose. NT if you like stately homes, EH if you are more interested in outdoor sites.

We belong to both and also the Historic Housing Association, which gets us into nearly as many houses as the NT. We live near Blenheim, who charge £25 entrance. so we soon get our money back.