beau

I will be in Britain next month with my wife and two teenage daughters. I plan to purchase the Great British Heritage Pass for my wife and myself, but should I purchase one for each of my daughters, too? They are both students (one in high school, one at university). We plan to spend most of our time in central England through Scotland. We will only spend one day in London because we were just there a few years ago.

We were in Rome two years ago and my daughters received very few student discounts. Is Britain the same? If so, it would make sense for me to purchase four Heritage Passes.

Also, we will be renting a car (I'm a bit nervous, but I have driven in New York, LA, Boston, etc.). Hopefully, we will get over the shock of me sitting on the "other" side of the car and driving on the "other" side of the road. I am excited and I know it will add to the adventure of the trip. My question is - will there be periodic toilets available? I have a map of the MSA's (Motor Service Areas) in England, but it seems to only list major highways. We will spend most of our time on smaller roads.

janisj

They may qualify for some concessions - but most likely the GBHP would still save you ££ over paying student admission fees.

I did a test run a few years ago traveling w/ an elderly friend (OAPs generally get about the same concessions as students). She didn't get the GBHP and after the trip we compared the total spent -- I saved over £280 over the 15 days and if she had a GBHP, she would have saved a bit over £150.

Is the one daughter under 15? If so, they do have family versions of the GBHP which would save even a bit more.

As for toilets - every pub, restaurant, cafe, tourist attraction/castle/garden/stately home and most villages have public toilets.

scotlib

The daughter at university could bring her student ID and that could be useful in some locations. I used mine for the Real Mary King's Close tour, also Roslyn Chapel (which is not on the GBHP), and also my two day tours with Rabbies and Heart of Scotland. It was quite a useful thing to tuck into my wallet, actually.

It probably wouldn't hurt for the high school student to also bring her student ID, if her high school does one.

Keep some change handy for the public toilets, 30p or 40p or so.

janisj

Yes - a student ID will get a discount -- but the GBHP will get you in for less.

As two examples:

Edinburgh Castle
Adult aged 16 to 59: £12.00
Child aged 5 to 15: £6.00
Concession aged 60+ (no student discount): £9.50

Chatsworth
Adult £15.00
OAP/student £12.00
Child £9.50
Family £46.00

Both are covered by the GBHP and they add up quickly. Mostly depends on how many covered properties you plan on visiting.

Pete_R

MSAs are Motor<i>way</i> Service Areas and as such are only found on motorways. If you are driving on small roads you won't be able to use these as they often only have access from the motorway. Motorways are the network of (in theory) high-speed, restricted access roads in the UK, equivalent to interstate freeways in the US.

If you're looking for something like the &quot;rest areas&quot; common in the rural bits of the US we don't really have them. Roads in the country might have a small car park somewhere scenic of a sign to a picnic place but there isn't, to my knowledge, one single network of them that you could plan a trip around.

Not too worry though, the UK is much smaller than the US so you don't get the hours of &quot;nothing&quot; in between destinations. I'd be hard pushed to think of a road you could drive down in England for more than half an hour and not pass near a town or village so you should be able to find somewhere to stop if the need arises.

scotlib

Hi, sorry, I should have mentioned that I used Both the GBHP and my student ID. GBHP got me in free to its locations and the student ID gave me a discount for those places I used it, mentioned above.

http://www.britishheritagepass.com/Prices mentions that a family pass is good if your kids are under 15. So, adult passes necessary if you are over 15, evidently. And back to the OP question, too.

As janisj writes, add up the places you plan to visit and calculate either way.

I do see people write on the boards how having the pass helps choose to visit more places than you might have otherwise--the if it's free, no unhappy thoughts if you dislike the place, you just move on. And if you like it, you're so glad you took time to stop.

If you have time, I used advice I saw from janisj, which was to have the pass shipped to me here at home. Even with the shipping costs, the pass got me into enough free places that added up valued at more than what the pass cost. It was great to have the book and map for planning what to see. It took about a week to arrive (this was February). You can also choose to purchase it online and pick it up at one of the authorized places in the UK.

beau

Thank you for the advice. I think I learned some very important information - does the Heritage Pass need to be purchased before I leave the US? I have read about people picking up their pass at Stonehenge or St Pauls, so I thought I could purchase it in England, but it sounds like I need to order it before I leave. It adds a bit more to the cost (because we leave in just over 2 weeks) but it seems worth it.

janisj

You can buy the GBHP in the UK - w/ your passport since they are not available to UK residents.

But many people prefer to get them ahead of time since the multi page catalog is very useful in planning your itinerary and what you can see.

Graziella5b

WE a family GBHP it covers up to three childredn and is great savings.

Graziella5b

sorry I meant to say, WE bought some time ago...

janisj

The children have to be under 15 - since one of the OPs kids is in University and we don't know the high schooler's age, the family GBHP may or may not be applicable . . . . .

beau

My other daughter is 17, so four adult passes are the best option for me. I am happy to learn that I can purchase the passes in London and avoid the hefty express mail cost.