English Heritage or National Trust?

[Parksy]

We love getting away in the caravan to various parts of the country and we visit some interesting places when we're away.
When we're at home between trips we hope to have some interesting days out using my little Fiesta runabout now that we have the time available.
The Fiesta is so economical compared to the Trundle Truck which I use for towing that we could go almost anywhere within reason, and we live at the heart of the central motorway network which helps.
Our dilemma is which, if any, of the two tourist organisations to become members of, The National Trust or English Heritage?
We only want to join one of them so which offers the best value and the most places of interest.
What do we get for our membership fee, can we get free admittance to stately homes, castles, museums etc?
Which organisation would you recommend?

 

[Jaydug]

I use my membership mostly when I'm caravanning in the UK and I decided on the EH. An added bonus is that if my grandson is with me, his admission is included in my membership. Last year, a visit for the two of us to Stonehenge plus my visit to Dover Castle covered the membership fee.

 

[DrZhivago]

Both offer free entry to the places in their ownership. Membership of English Heritage also alllows discounts at some independently owned places such as Warwick Castle.

NT are stronger on stately homes and EH on castles, although there is some overlap. EH places tend to be more "ruinous". Neither admit you to to anywhere in Scotland and EH not to anywhere in Wales. However EH admits you to places in Wales and Scotland owned by the equivalent organisations in and after your second year of membership. NT has properties in Northern Ireland.

NT is stronger in the South East and West Midlands and can be a bit thin on the ground elsewhere. EH sites are more evenly spread and have a cluster in the North of England.

 

[Thingy]

We are members of both and for good reason. Apart from the excellent days out and broad range of places to visit, we save ourselves a fortune by being members.

We spend a lot ot time in Cornwall and use the Nat Trust Beaches a lot, i.e. Godrevy, Kynance and Carne and the free parking over three weeks pays back our membership, and that before you add the days out.

We joined English Heritage because they have more of the things that I am interested in.

It is worth searching the internet for current offers via discount code, I usually save 50% on annual membership.

 

[Hutch]

Thank for the information folks, As Mr Parksy has asked about benifits, of the two organisation, which of them are the more dog friendly? As we always have our dogs with us, we have found Europe very dog friendly allowing them into public buildings and castles etc. Which would be best.
Thanks
Hutch.

 

[crazyguider]

Same asThingy, we belong to both. We use the NT for more visits than EH, but have beent to some great days with both.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks for the replies guys, both organisations look like good value for money.
I might suggest to Herself that I take out dual membership of the NT and she takes dual membership of EH, both via direct debit.

 

[Thingy]

Parksy
both organizations have some very comprehensive websites that, like the CC directory list all their properties. As a general rule of thumb, the NT specializes in stately homes and scenic ground, whether it be formal gardens or unspoilt wild lands. The EH organization are more of the blood and guts castles and fortifications, though both do crossover at points.

 

[Parksy]

To be honest, we slightly favour the NT because my other half rather likes stately homes, gardens etc.
I've seen the websites thanks Thingy, EH has an offer on for reduced membership fees at the moment so we'll wait a while to see if the cost of NT will be subject to an offer in the near future.

 

[Lynnybobs]

If you have a Tesco Clubcard you can use your points to join English Heritage - memberships vary between £13 to £30 worth of vouchers depending on which type you choose.

 

[chrisbee1]

We are members of the NT mainly because Mrs chrisbee is into both history and art so prefers stately homes to castle ruins although I appreciate both organisations have both.

Going slightly off topic, I hate getting ripped off by places charging for "annual" tickets. Most tourists are visiting from a different area so are unlikely to return to the "attraction" within a year.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

NT could also stand for National Treasure as well as National Trust and as you are a National Treasure Parsksy then it should be NT you join. :lol:

 

[BedfordGeorge]

We are members of both organisations and if you are travelling around the UK then both can quickly repay the cost of membership. However I feel that the NT offers more interesting places to visit, many of which can involve a full day to explore properly. Their large and interesting houses having appropriate large gardens and land around them, giving good walking opportunities. With the EH many of the sites are effectively ruins and can be seen almost as well from outside the property, as inside it. When planning our breaks we often plan them around one of the properties in either of the organisations, and look for a site in the area and by being in both we have the best possibility of doing this. We also in our own small way help to keep the properties in good condition for future generations.

 

[Gafferbill]

........my vote would be for the N.T.
It fits in with caravanning perfectly.
There is always somewhere near wherever you go that is worth a visit.
There are some very interesting properties once owned by very interesting people who have gifted their homes to the N.T.

 

[chrisbee1]

........my vote would be for the N.T.
It fits in with caravanning perfectly.
There is always somewhere near wherever you go that is worth a visit.
There are some very interesting properties once owned by very interesting people who have gifted their homes to the N.T.

Well they're not having mine!!

 

[Gafferbill]

......they might if you are liable to the huge inheritance tax bill that some of them faced.
They avoided lumbering their offspring by bequeathing their property to the N.T.

 

[Mel]

......they might if you are liable to the huge inheritance tax bill that some of them faced.
They avoided lumbering their offspring by bequeathing their property to the N.T.

And the eye watering up keep costs.

However if you look at the Duke of Devonshire who owns Chatsworth, then either he or someone very close to him is incredibly business savvy and has managed to keep Chatsworth out of NT.
Mel

 

[gyp]

You should also consider HHA ( Historic Houses Assoc) which has mainly privatley owned prmises .Most of thes give free entry , although they may charge a small fee for a special event.
We have hust paid £54 for a 20% discount Senior couple membership. (Discount through either CC or CCC)

Beaulieu is a member .We visited last Saturday for the Vintage day and were able to go into all the attractions , Motor Museum , house , grounds. This would have cost us £46 on the gate , or £ 38 if booked in advance on line for 2 seniors.
Check them out on line www.hha.org.ukThey have over 300 places in UK (10 Wales , 4in N.ireland , 49 Scotland.
We also belong to NT and these are certainly as good.

 

[swpostie]

At the risk of upsetting some people, I'm a member of the National Trust of Malta.

If costs €30 per year for joint membership and €20 for single and allows reciprocal admission to properties in the UK, and other parts of the world (as does the British NT).

I couldn't justify the high cost of the regular NT (not knowing how much use I would get out of it) and have only visited one property in 2 years. If I find myself using it a lot more then I'll consider joining the British NT.

I get free admission to English Heritage through work and have visited quite a few.

 

[chrisbee1]

You should also consider HHA ( Historic Houses Assoc) which has mainly privatley owned prmises .Most of thes give free entry , although they may charge a small fee for a special event.
We have hust paid £54 for a 20% discount Senior couple membership. (Discount through either CC or CCC)

Beaulieu is a member .We visited last Saturday for the Vintage day and were able to go into all the attractions , Motor Museum , house , grounds. This would have cost us £46 on the gate , or £ 38 if booked in advance on line for 2 seniors.
Check them out on line www.hha.org.ukThey have over 300 places in UK (10 Wales , 4in N.ireland , 49 Scotland.
We also belong to NT and these are certainly as good.

Yes, quite expensive but it is an "annual" ticket.

 

[Mogwyth]

We have both and make pretty good use of them.

Despite what someone said earlier EH membership gives you half price entry to the equivalent organisations in Wales and Scotland for the first year and free there after.

 

[SamandRose]

Agree with what others have said.

I pay for dual membership of EH, Rose pays for dual membership of NT and we've made good use of both. However if I was forced to pick one I'd probably say you get better value from NT membership, as many of their properties (including grounds) are much larger and would cost more to enter without the membership cards.

 

[gyp]

Chrisbee , the e- ticket is valid for 12 months for a 1 day visit. Confusing , but it is not an annual ticket.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks very much for all of the replies, it looks as though we'll start off with NT dual membership and if we use it as often as we hope to we might add EH a bit further down the line.
At the moment life is temporarily becoming a juggling trick between some serious home maintenance and improvement, going away in the caravan as often as we can without disrupting the life our cat too much because already she's not keen on some of the home improvements, particularly wooden floors where once there was carpet :lol: and using my little runabout for day trips to some of the places listed on the NT website.

 

[Gafferbill]

I can recommend Upton House and gardens.....you won't believe how Shell Oil came to be so called!