National trust membership is it a class thing

[candaby653]

Ok so I have never thought about national trust membership being a class thing. I thought of it as a normal thing lots of families have.

However I heard someone in a cafe having a rant about someone they knew, "they have every middle class status symbol right down to the national trust sticker on the Audi"

Is this how people see national trust!

Well. The middle classes tend to use their membership for the houses and gardens. The rabble use it for dog walks

Oh goodie, another thread about class signifiers 😭

I don’t think you display the sticker any more, do you? You have to put your membership card into the machine for parking anyway. So they are a bit out of date

Oh I know. Always fun. It's just not something I have ever thought of as class related.

Maybe they kept the sticker and that's what pissing this person off.

Who says being middle class isn't normal?

There's loads of people who are essentially middle class. It's not a dirty word, and contrary to what someone (who is very middle class) will be along to say in a minute, class is definitely still a thing in the UK.

There's a huge accessibility issue to NT membership etc - it's pretty normal for deprived children to have not had access to any such enrichment. For example, all the kids who've never been to the seaside, to a national park etc.

Whereas my thoroughly MC parents buy it purely for the parking with an occasional venue visit if convenient.

I mean, we are national trust members and - while we are working class through and through - we aren't rough. I don't think national trust is necessarily a middle class thing, just not a "rough" person's thing.

In all seriousness yes it is the preserve of the middle classes or at least the affluent. Many people don't have a car or a spare £12 a month, and those people typically won't be middle class.

We rarely go to NT properties as we don't own a car. You can get to a few of them without a car but it's a hassle, and makes it into a full day trip. So a membership wouldn't be worth it for us.

We can afford a car, so it's not just a financial thing, but we live in central London so it doesn't fit our lifestyle.

I do kinda see what they mean. I went to one recently when they did their free entrance and it was just under £20 per adult to get in. Can't see how those with families could afford it regular (nor upfront cost) on minimum wage. So such a huge population are missing out on local history and education

I think it depends on where you live and your interests/hobbies so yes it probably is more middle class.

Yes it is, probably. But the middle class accusation is just another stick to beat people doing literally anything at all with, isn’t it?

I use another entrance from the back lanes for my local NT property. That probably makes us 'rough' 😆.

I think we pay 12.50 a month for the annual family membership (4 of us)

While this would be a stretch for some, we only go a few times a year (mainly when we are on holiday elsewhere in the country) but it's cheaper than paying us in individually.

I think it’s atleast 4 times a year they do free passes for families via newspaper offers etc so plenty of people still get the benefit that can’t normally afford it.

Not in my book anyway! When we weren't members, I actively looked for footpaths/free parking locally to access the grounds on the sly.

How do you know which paper it's in and which day?

I misused normal. I just meant any family.

Not just us then! The local OS maps were a good investment.

English Heritage here, next to no NT around!

I think it might be the other way round 😂

NB No pets and we don’t drive, so I might be wrong. We joined years ago because we have had walking hols in the Lake District for years and appreciate all the work they do on paths etc.

Subscribe to the moneysavingexpert free weekly emails they advertise them

Theyve run out on this offer but they come up every few months

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/free-national-trust-pass-worth-29765694.amp

It is exceedingly middle class. It’s only “normal” to you because, presumably, it was the norm in your wider family and social circles!

I grew up working class and visiting National Trust/English Heritage sites could not have been further from the way my family/friends’ families spent their leisure time.

Maybe they kept the sticker and that's what pissing this person off.
Our old sticker is in because we’re too lazy to unpeel it. It’s not in an Audi though, phew!
We have English Heritage too. Middle class stickertastic, we are