To ask if you went to NT properties as a child...

[LisaJool]

And if you think they made a difference to you?
Went to my first NT stately home today, and judging by admission prices I can see why NT is often trotted out on MN as being very middle class. Forty minute house tour which was great (for me), but not convinced it would be enjoyable for young children.
The grounds, whilst vast, weren't much better than (free) parks and there was no play equipment, so again, not sure it's a great thing for dc to look forward to. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, a lot of the other visitors were mums with several dc, and I sort of wondered what the appeal was? Why would you pay to walk around a park when you can go to a free park that offers better facilities?
I do realize the memberships work out much cheaper, but still I'm rather perplexed about the appeal. Is being a NT member a status thing?

My DM used to wring a full year's worth of NT family membership out of our week's summer holiday when we were kids. We once did four properties in a single day. I didn't mind because I was a total bookworm/history junkie from a weirdly young age, and could have spent the whole holiday waltzing down minstrels' galleries and looking at copper pans and eating cream teas on a loop. I loved the stories: the dukes, the banquets, the priest holes, the old dresses, the carvings, the creaking staircases and the bees in the lavender and the square green box hedges, the people who'd been there before me. Reading Tom's Midnight Garden probably helped. Also the tea rooms.

We were poor growing up and my parents were never really interested in history so we never went but I did go on a school trip to Tatton Park as a child and it was absolutely wonderful. It started my lifelong love of British history. We had to dress as Victorian servants and we got to look in the servants quarters. The staff were all in costume. I was mesmerised.

I went back as an adult and enjoyed it so much. There is a working farm where you can stroke the animals, a massive lake, a huge herd of red deer, a cafe, a gift shop etc etc.

We don't really visit NT places very often now because we don't drive and most are only properly accessible with a car.

I was probably a weird child as I really enjoyed going round stately homes. My brother would refuse to come in and just hang around outside with a football.

No, I don’t think it’s done me any good. My brother is way more successful than I am!

You must live near me as these are also my two locals. Daughter is quite happy to go still, I have seen some miserable teenagers though. We don’t bother with the houses when we visit any NT places, but the grounds are good for kids to run around. And they often have parks or play equipment or activity trails etc. if you have membership it’s cheaper than zoo/ swimming/ soft play etc

I would have loved to go to a NT property as a child. I was obsessed with buildings and would have given a lot to go to a big house for a look round. True, I was quite a strange child but it would have been my idea of heaven.

Never happened as we didn't really do cultural stuff and there weren't any NT properties near us.

I got taken to lots of stately homes as a child yes. Find a lot of it boring!

NT servos children and families better these days and lots of them have huge grounds for exploring.

We use ours less now but I do keep up the family membership as it doesn't take much to break even on it. When the kids were smaller I loved at our local place as it ran different activities every single day in school holidays, we would spend our week going for den building, marshmallow toasting, pond dipping, bug hotels and all sorts.

As a kid I got dragged round NT properties all the time and they were so very very dull. I remember being about 8 and promising any future kids I might have that I would never make them go and look round an old house 😂

We do have English Heritage membership so I assume my kids are promising their future kids not to drag them round castles and ruins 😁

You must live in our part of the world! DD had a school trip to Tatton as a child and had to dress as a Victoria servant. We also loved the farmyard when she was young. We still go quite often to explore the park. Will be visiting again before Christmas to play carols in the Stable yard.

Just remembered another good one, Quarry Bank Mill. Especially the Apprentice House. That's a really good one with children.

I’m slightly biased as I have worked for the National Trust as a land manager however I think the gardens are generally safer to let children explore than your local public park. If you participate in all of the children activities you can get a lot of value - there are lots of trails and then 50 things to do before you are 11 3/4 (ask at reception for a guide sheet!)

I totally forgot about Quarry Bank Mill! Yes, we went there too. I've got a photo of me in their school room writing on a chalk board 🤣
I was brought up in Cheshire and now live in Lancashire.

Yes went to NT properties as a child. Loved it, loved imagining it was my house or what the lives of the people who lived there were like.
Plenty of opportunities to run free in the grounds, trees to climb and tea room at the end. We didn’t notice the lack of play equipment.

We go often. It's not a status thing, it costs us something like £12 a month for the whole family! We take sandwiches. Our local one is beautiful and has an indoor and outdoor play area, trails, a cafe, a secondhand bookshop and often does free events like mushroom hunting or storytime. A great day out.

My grandmother used to give my mother family membership as a Christmas gift each year. I had loads of siblings and so it was a cheap family day out. We went a LOT - and I absolutely loved going round the houses and gardens as a child.

My mother has paid my family membership since I got married and we use it a lot. Unlike me, DD does not like going round the houses and gardens - unless bribed with treasure hunts.

I do like the shops (the NT furniture polish smells amazing) and the tea rooms.

I went to many NT properties and similar places as a child and I loved it. Yes, I do remember some playgrounds. Mainly though I loved the houses and interiors, really contributes to a child’s visual reference and imaginative landscape. If you have a child who loves stories and history and has a strong sense of place it’s fantastic for them. Also, shops, cafes!

I don't remember going as a child. We are members though and at £10.50 a month I can't say it's a status thing 😂 The appeal for kids probably depends on the child. My son just enjoys being outside so acres of garden or forest is perfect for him. He also likes going through all the different rooms inside. He's 4 for context. Kids just like to run about! And as they get older they might take an interest in the history.

Never. Occasionally we went to look at them from the outside, I would have loved to go but my parents couldn't afford it.

as an adult I find them mostly very dull.

I've worked and volunteered for the NT in the past so I guess I was always biased towards it, but it's really come into its own since having my daughter. We visit family in Cornwall a lot and the membership pays for itself through that alone - love Glendurgan, Godolphin, St Michael's Mount, Trelissick. I suppose we now favour sites that have a lot of variety: gardens to explore, open space to run around, house to tour if we get a chance, play park and cafe - oh, and their second-hand bookshops are always great.

I was only ever interested in the historic house element of it when I was younger, but now I really appreciate the beautifully-maintained gardens, and see it as guaranteed outdoor entertainment for child and family - I don't think I'd bother dragging my kid around a stately home at this age. I'm really surprised you didn't think it was worth £10 for three of you but I suppose it definitely depends on the site.

Yes, but mainly Scottish properties as I spent a significant portion of my childhood holidays there Bannockbyrn, Culleodon Moor, Glenfinnan (before Harry Potter fame) and glen coe are all favourites.
My Granny gave me life membership for my 18th birthday she knew she was terminally I'll and wanted to give something big to make up for all the life events she would miss. She died three weeks later, but every time we visit a property we talk about her. It is such a precious gift to me. My parents gave my daughter life membership on her 18th having heard me talk of my granny so much my daughter was delighted as she knows the lifelong joy it will bring her.
Down south I love Waddesdon, The Vyne, Hinton Ampner, Kingston Lacey, St Michaels Mount, Lanhydrock. Up North Fountains Abbey and Brinham Rocks. In Scotland Bannockburn still a big win and St Abbs.

Didn't go when I was young but I have a membership and take my 3 yo with me regularly. It's £10 a month so if I go once a month it's cheaper than visiting just one time. I'm lucky I have 5 local to me and 4/5 of them have really nice play areas.

I think they're stunning and I feel much safer walking round them than woodland near my home.

Dd aged out of them by 6. There's one nearish that I adore, but not near enough to just ooo there. would pay for as a one off, but she's not into it any more. So of course we don't get to go anymore For now...

My mum used to take me a lot as a child. There were loads of homes nearby so we had membership just for the two of us. We went in the holidays mostly. Good for an afternoon out. Siblings a lot older and did their own thing, dad working.
I enjoyed it, we went to the same ones a lot, but there were often trails and questions for children to do, and we had our favourite things/rooms to look at.
I also enjoyed reading books like Children of Green Knowe and The Secret Garden, so would often imagine I was in those kinds of stories!

Went to loads a child, loved imagining that I lived in the house, running round the gardens with my brother, and I was usually allowed to buy a new Horrible Histories book from the gift shop.

My children however don't seem to be impressed by a day out unless it involves soft play, hoping they just need to be a little older...

It was nice time for just me and mum as well. Good chats in the car on the way, and while walking around.

Yes. I asked for a contribution to life membership for my 40th and my parents paid for the whole thing. Hopefully will get my monies worth. Especially as I can take a guest. Also joined Historic Houses association.

Some of the play equipment is amazing. Found memories of the adventure play ground at Belton. We loved it!