To be put off visiting National Trust properties because they are National Trust properties

[Growlithe]

I can see that the National Trust have some great places, but it puts years on me whenever I visit one.

They always try to flog you the annual membership. When you suggest you may not get the value out of it (because believe it or not you have other things to do and places to visit of a weekend than just National Trust places) they look at you like you are stark raving mad. And people with National Trust memberships do the same. It's like a cult.

They have complicated pricing systems based on which bits of the place you want to visit. How do I know which bits I want to see, I've never been there before.

The cafes are always expensive.

Whilst you often go for days out to entertain/educate the DCs, and they often have activities/packs aimed at children, they seem to tolerate children rather than welcome them.

They must also think the children of today are some sort of alien species, judging from their '50 things to do before you are 11 3/4'. I mean, do we have to be told the DCs would enjoy making a daisy chain, climb a tree or run about in the rain? I know kids like to play computer games these days but do they think we are so so removed from doing this kind of thing with our DCS? It's condescending.

They are full of performance parents with massive great big picnic baskets (which is probably understandable given the prices in the cafes I suppose).

Although they are knowledgeable, they often just seem to sap the life out of the very things they want to show you, and could do with taking a leaf out of places like the Black Country Living Museum, which has amazingly enthusiastic staff.

So go on, National Trust members, do your worst. AIBU?

[tallulah]

I joined last year and have been pleasantly surprised by how good the volunteers always are with my now 6 yo. We've been in EH for decades and always get the impression they'd rather children were seen but not heard; but in every NT property we've visited the guides have always pointed out to DD what there is in the room to look for, and given her "clues" about where the things on her quiz are.

[CokeFan]

I did not know that Velma and flowery. I've just had a look at the "Before you visit" bit of the FAQ on their website and it says?

"If you?re a member of the National Trust you can enjoy free entry to all our special places, so do make sure you have your membership cards with you when you visit. We can only give free entry to valid cardholders, so please remember to carry them."

It mentions that you might be charged for special events or that you might have timed tickets (we did today at Snowshill Manor and Gardens) but doesn't say anything about charging and yet, there it is on the wimpole estate prices page. The parking elsewhere I can kind of understand if someone else owns the car park.

Had a look at the Beatles thing and I can't say it sounds like my idea of fun. It's 2.5 hours looking round a couple of houses with a maximum of 15 people for £8.90 each?!? I guess they regard that as a "special event".

[breatheslowly]

Our local one is Wimpole. There aren't many others in the area. I get a bit when I see maps showing all of the NT properties as there are far more properties in the Midlands, South and West. It sort of rubs in the fact that we have to pay to go into the farm. Membership is £99 for a family and entry to the farm is £11 for a family with membership compared to £23.70 without. So we would have to go to the farm about 8 times to really get our money's worth locally. And it isn't the best farm we have visited as an attraction (I suppose that isn't what they are aiming for).

[BoffinMum]

Breathe, I agree. We're not renewing our passes as there just aren't enough places around here, only Ickworth, Wimpole and Anglesey Abbey, and we have been to all of them so many times now.

[Amberfox]

Am a parent and young grandparent, I joined Mumsnet due to this thread.

We've had Joint Membership of the National Trust for some considerable years, never regretting that decision - you always have somewhere historically interesting to go and our grandchildren, ages seven to ten, love being taken to their various properties and gardens. We've never once been treated with intolerance but always welcomed by volunteers. Also, we take a picnic - due mainly to dietary needs.

Once we've decided where to go, we swat up a bit on the property and family who owned it so that we can engage with them. They loved Bateman's, becoming interested in the novels by Rudyard Kipling and one of the older GSs did a school project on the Romans having visited Chedworth Villa using photos and sketches he'd done while there.

We engage them in conversation and, barring emergencies, keep our cell phones switched off; this way we enjoy each other's company.

And that's what should be remembered. Trying to enjoy a day out while some, not all, sit glued to their phones, i-pads, etc ignoring their children causing mayhem is not a good day out . I certainly don't believe that children should be seen and not heard or sit ram rod straight at the table but it should be respected that others would like to enjoy their day out.

It's hard work being a parent and a grandparent but their formative years fly by with a speed that can take your breath away.

[Amberfox]

Guilty, am so sorry to read of your unfortunate meeting with that volunteer. We've been to Greenway several times, never meeting anyone like that. That's unacceptable behaviour and maybe she's been moved on ... or out.

[fussychica]

We are members and even though we are only in UK for half the year we still manage to get our monies worth. We live near Stourhead, which is fab, and have several other NT properties fairly close so go walking in NT grounds regularly.

However, I am a bit peeved they keep putting up the price of annual membership and I hate their new pricing structure. For example, they have recently decided you have to pay full price entry instead of a price for the house and one for the garden at Stourhead. We used to take visitors without NT membership walking but I begrudge £16 for an hours walk. You also have to pay the full whack on days when the house isn't even open.

[meredintofpandiculation]

I found English Heritage more useful for kids - lots of castles. Depends on your kids though

[Amberfox]

Procrastinating, I've always thought Upstairs is deemed more important than Downstairs, which is a shame as many visitors would equate more with the kitchens and attics than the glory in between. We forget that without the Downstairs, the Upstairs couldn't function.

I write as someone whose granpa was a chauffeur to a Big House and granma was a maid in, possibly, the same Big House. My mother was also in service.

It wouldn't do the NT any harm at all to stop making the kitchens into shops, selling the same whichever you visit, and maintaining the kitchens where possible. Greenway has since had its kitchen developed showing "eras". One half was like walking into my granma's kitchen, the other, my mother's. So many memories.

[BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou]

We are members of the National Trust and English Heritage and have been for over 20 years. Some years we do ‘get our money’s worth’ some years we don’t but it is a charitable donation (and goes a tiny way towards decreasing DHs tax bill).

We all love visiting the places and membership also gets you discounts where you might not expect - some outdoor clothing shops for example as well as some restaurant chains.

BUT each to their own... some people find NT type properties as boring as I would find a football match!

[liquidrevolution]

Zombie thread.

Hi new mumsnetter. Please don't bump old threads. It's annoying.

[Amberfox]

liquidrevolution. Thank you so much for your warm welcome. Hadn't realised you were in charge of Mumsnet. My apologies.

[BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou]

Aaaargh can’t believe I got dragged into a zombie thread! Wish MN would close threads that haven’t had any action for a certain period.

[vampirethriller]

I'm with you. They're also awful to work for, or they were when I did. They treat staff like machines and everything is about money, money, money. Yes we all need to make money but they are obsessed. That's why they want everyone to be a member and charge for separate bits of the same property. The kitchens have a target, usually unrealistic, they have to meet each day and if you don't, the managers are taken into meetings and asked exactly what went wrong. If you do, all you get is "why can't you do it every day." I was a manager in one of the castles and I'd never even visit again, it made me so unhappy.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

I got an annual membership because they are nice places to go with the dc for a roam about and an ice cream. Plus a lot of beach car parks can be used for free if you Holiday in Cornwall. I only need to go once every 2 Months to ‘Pay for itself’.

However, I have learned to read the guidebooks very carefully because unless they specifically articulate their actual play facilities , and don’t just loosely suggest ‘a patch of grass to play on, carefully’ , they don’t seem to welcome children. When they see me and Ds (2) coming up the path it’s like the scenes in Mary poppins where the staff hold all the valuables down waiting for the canon fire.

[Bluelady]

We've got annual membership and I'd resent the cost a lot less if they gave members discount in the cafes and shops. You're right, they are expensive. And whoever said Belton Hall is fab is absolutely spot on.

[Sparklesocks]

How do people even find these old threads!

[babybythesea]

We live in Cornwall, right by lanhydrock. We spend so much time there the kids call it 'their house'. We go for walks round the grounds with the dog. We go for a play in the playground and a cup of tea/hot chocolate after school. We do the Easter Egg hunts there every year. And we go round the house. We try to spot one new thing in each room each time we go. Some volunteers have been sniffy, most have not. One got out some 'jewels' from a safe and let the kids try them on. They sometimes have dressing up. DD age 9 has been there so much that when they did a school visit there, she inadvertently gave a guided tour to an elderly couple who followed the school group round, DD telling her teacher about all the rooms, and listened in on it all, thanking her for such an informative visit at the end! (She was very confused - her teacher highly amused!)
I get my money back on lanhydrock alone. Never mind all the coastal parking and the other properties round here. Also love Trerice, small but perfectly formed. And they do an outstanding Father Christmas.