Which membership?

[deedeemegadoodoo]

Could I have opinions on which membership to choose between National Trust and Historic England?

I live in the North West of England (between Liverpool / Manchester) but I have a Campervan so willing to drive to places. I also have family in Scotland so would like to go up there too and travel in France and Spain as well (or will when it becomes possible again).

I don’t have children but do have a dog, so interested in places suitable for my fluffy boy and it will be a joint membership with my husband. My sister is also going to take out a membership in whichever I join so she can come along with my nephew (age 12).

I am thinking about National Trust, but don’t want to discount the other yet until I know the advantages.

I have both and I'd say it very much depends what you like. If you like lots of buildings to wander round, then go for National Trust - houses, old mills etc etc. Lots to do inside. We do swapsies with the dog so one of us goes round and the other sits with him and then vice versa. Lots of countryside to roam in - though quite often dog has to stay on the lead. You can usually sit outside at the cafes and often they'll let the dog in the shop (and give them treats to dog's joy). They own masses of coastline as well plus you get free parking in the car parks which is really useful on the coast and in the Lake District. Haven't checked recently, but there used to be a reciprocal deal with NT for Scotland so you got in with an English NT membership.

English Heritage - not so many houses, but lots of amazing ruins. Dover Castle is spectacular. They share some sites with the NT as well. Again, you get free parking if you are a member. Fewer tea rooms! Ruins mostly dog friendly if they are on a lead.

I'd go on each of their websites and see what you get in areas you really want to go to and which one you then think you'd get best value for money out of.

From what you’ve said, I think NT would be a better choice. Having said that, it’s not too expensive to have both. I’ll start with NT then consider the other if I come across attractions linked to English Heritage.

English Heritage members can get discounted entry to lots of partner attractions across the country www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/associated-attractions/ Like 2-for-1 at the London Transport museum and 50% discount at Warwick Castle. It also offers discounted entrance or free ticket upgrades at musicals and plays.
However, NT has better food in their cafes. Also, English Heritage has a lot of places that are free anyway, and their sites tend to be cheaper to get into - they are often ruins - though they do have some expensive ones. You probably feel like you are saving more money with NT, as they tend to be very pricy for a single visit.
An alternative is Art Fund which has free entrance to some National Trust and English Heritage. There are also discounts on other sites and museums

Historic England seems to be a historic building listing and info site? I’m going to also assume you mean English Heritage!

We’ve had membership for both for years. As PPs have said, National Trust have more preserved houses whereas English Heritage is largely ruins. We tend to use our National Trust membership when we’re home or away more than English Heritage but one visit to say Dover Castle pretty much world out the value of an entire years membership!

What we should have done is rotate between the two really as once you’ve done the local in your area places, you’ve done them really! National Trust tends to have more big gardens to walk our mutt - not that I’m sure you expect to but you can’t take dogs in doors. It does mean though that if you want to see the house, one of you has to hang outside.

Works out not world out!

I did mean English Heritage! I’ve got the NT membership now but could de Italy be worth getting EH next year. Thanks all.

Different one each year? I feel they are both expensive
A few good free places on here
www.donthibernate.co.uk

Do any of you have life membership for either English or National Trust? Has it been worth it?

Also, how about Historic Royal Palaces membership? That covers Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court etc which are all quite expensive so it seems to be a great deal!

If you work in Local Government or the Civil Service (and possibly NHS but you'd need to check that one) then you'd be eligible to join the Civil Service Social Club. About £4 a month and gives corporate membership to all English Heritage places, the historic palaces (Hampton court, kens Palace, Tower of London) and Kew Gardens has just been added. You can take another adult in - usually for free and up to 4 children. It's a great scheme with lots of other benefits too like £4 cinema tickets for any showing.

Star555 - I have life membership for both NT and English Heritage thanks to a godmother who left me enough money to get both. I've had them for about 30 years now, I suppose, and yes absolutely, but they are now very expensive and I think you have to buy early to get full value! A friend gave NT life membership to her son for his 21st and as he's 29 now he has lots of time to get the benefit!

I would wait a while before taking out either. Many places are shut because of people not being able or willing to volunteer as usual, so you may not get full value for membership that you usually do.

We have lifetime NT as there is a good property/garden near us and we often find places to visit if we're away. We bought EH this year to get a discount in an associated attraction but have found there aren't as many places near us (west midlands) that we could have a day out with the children. We probably wouldn't get EH again. We love our NT membership.