susan4

DD and I will soon be touring England by car for 11 days. I have read a lot about these passes on this and other sites and still have some questions. Since the Great British Heritage Pass has been discontinued, I want to make sure I have updated info.

1. People like National Trust membership because it provides free parking at many places, for instance, some coastal sites in Cornwall. Does the NT touring pass also provide this parking benefit?

2. On some site someone expressed the opinion that EH attractions admission prices provided better value for money than NT attractions; so it might make sense to get NT pass and pay as you go for EH sites. Anyone agree or disagree?

3. Sorry to quote without attribution, but in my notes I have the following:
"If you join English Heritage at an English Heritage site you get the entrance fee for that site refunded so make sure your first visit is the most expensive." Is that (still) true?

4. If we go for the NT touring pass, I know we can purchase them in London. Just want to clarify that we would get passes immediately - no waiting period, right?

Thanks for any any help.

indy_dad

My first reaction was that you'd have to visit quite a few sites to break even so I doubt it would be worth it in most circumstances. I do see that the touring passes are somewhat reduced from the annual passes.

The EH sites are generally castles and such while the NT are more gardens and estate homes. I would simple map out what you think you'll see and see if it makes sense. Again, I probably wouldn't recommend it.

Parking: don't know for sure, but I doubt it. My parking sticker came with the big handbook which isn't listed in the details.

1st EH site: this doesn't make sense to me. They are all free with the pass, what difference does it make which one you go to first (can't you "join" before you enter the first site?).

Hope that helps.

annhig

susan,

as a brit it's a bit difficult for me to comment as I've not been in the position of being a foreign visitor to these shores, but we've had a quite a few foreign visitors so I'll have a go.

my advice would be to work out what attractions you are likely to want to see and whether they are NT, EH, or neither -a few are privately owned of course. were you coming to Cornwall, the NT card is the obvious one to get -at least 5-6 gardens and stately houses - the card to have. but there are some EH attractions as well [Pendennis at Falmouth being the most important] so if you were here and had a, EH pass, you could still use it, otherwise just pay sa you go.

as for whether the NT touring pass includes car parks, the website isn't clear but it does so it covers "beauty spots" and as there isn't usually a charge for beaches etc., but there is for parking there, I am interpreting this as referring to car parks.

susan4

Thanks Indy-dad, 1st EH site: Agree it doesn't make sense, but poster meant the cost of the pass would be reduced by admission price, even though one had not paid the admission!

I am still trying to map out what parts of the country we will see, so though I have loads of info, short list of must-see sites so far.

susan4

Thanks Annhig, our posts crossed. I just found posts from people who recently used NT touring pass for parking at otherwise free sites, so that question is answered.

DD is not up for a lot of homes and/or gardens, but of course it is easier to decide to stop if we don't have to justify admission price.

Hope to have a list of places to check out soon. I am assuming that some places are covered by either pass, correct?

indy_dad

re 1st site: many places will offer the refund of admission to induce you to buy the pass but not as a discount on the pass, if that makes sense

My experience is that sites are either EH or NT (or neither) but not both. The exception is you might be able to park at a site with NT and enter with EH (e.g. Stonehenge).

Have a poke around my blog for photos and ideas if that helps:

ukfrey.blogspot.com

annhig

I am assuming that some places are covered by either pass, correct?>>

MOST places are covered by one pass or the other, but not all. for example in Cornwall, a number of major attractions are privately owned - the Eden Project, the Lost gardens of Heligan, Trebah and Trewithen gardens all spring to mind.

and I can't think of any that are both. [but i stand to be corrected of course!].

where are you thinking about visiting?

JP

Are you sure you can buy the Touring Pass in London? According to the NT web site, "It must be bought in advance of your visit via the online shops".

There are a few properties where either pass will get you in, because the property is owned by one of the organazitions but operated by the other.

Some NT properties are not covered by the Touring Pass, and some properties charge for parking even if you have the regular NT pass.

Details here: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visi...ge/item827765/

Avalon2

Join the rOYAL oAK sOCIETY tHE aMERICAN branch of the NT. It is tax deductibe too.Offer a nice magazine and lots of good rates on rentals if interested, nice newsletter too. All benefits for scotland too

annhig

JP - the webpage that you have linked to says that you CAN buy a touring pass at some NT properties, and gives a list of them all in the South of England, AND the giant's Causeway in NI.

flanneruk

Most attractions in Britain are either covered by neither pass (such as major stately homes like Chatsworth, royal palaces, Oxbridge colleges, paid-entry cathedrals and Westminster Abbey, commercial attractions like Warwick Castle and a large proportion of botanic attractions such as Kew, Wisley, Heligan or the Eden Project) or are free (especially most major museums and art galleries, our 8,000 medieval churches and a huge proportion of the English Heritage estate).

For some visitors, there's just no point in buying either an NT or an EH pass: for others buying both means huge savings over what they'd fork out if they didn't have both passes.

Personally, I wouldn't waste money on either. Decide roughly what you want to see and see if either pass makes sense for you.

susan4

Thanks all. If I had planned ahead, I would have joined Royal Oak Society --- tax deductible. By the time I learned of it, I would have had to pay $25 for 2 day delivery.

Probably won't get either pass. Worst case scenario, not having pass will cost just a bit more.

Thanks for advice.