Well like BigRuss found out upon checking my saying they - stirling, Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood being covered because like basingstoke2 I had used GBHP there, the current list in link I gave way above clearly does not list them being as covered in 2011 at least.

The last I used the GBHP Stirling/Edinburgh/Holyrood were covered. But as mentioned above they haven't displayed on the Visit Britain website's list of covered sites since last year. Seems weird to me since both castles' visits are managed by Historic Scotland and therefore would be GBHP properties.

And - no it wouldn't seem to be a 'Royal Thing' since both Osborne House and Balmoral Castle are covered.

Could it possibly just a mistake on the website -- I can't imagine Edinburgh/Stirling not being covered??? Dover is a similar situation - major castle w/ military detachments, etc and Dover is covered.

just seems odd . . .

>>Ultimately, when you purchase a pass of this nature, the pass ends up shaping your itinerary instead of fitting within it.<<

Not for us. We had a very specific list of places we wanted to visit (Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, Conwy Castle, Lacock Abbey, Stourhead) and a seven-day GBHP more than paid for itself. It helped that the folks at Blenheim and Warwick didn't validate the pass, so we got a couple of extra days' use out of it. But even with that bonus, it was well worth the price.

In addition, we got to visit Berkeley Castle using the pass when a walk we had planned was too muddy for our footwear, and we also got to see the Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock.

Make a list of the places you want to see, and then check the GBHP site to see how many are covered by the pass.

Lee Ann

I totally agree ElindilPickle. The GBHP definitely doesn't 'shape' one's itinerary since it covers soooooo very many properties. (Whether or not the Stirling/Edinburgh mystery is solved)

It isn't like the ridiculous London Pass which is almost impossible to get value for money w/o jumping through hoops. The GBHP is a fabulous money saver in every corner of the UK. One doesn't need to adapt to the GBHP - it just saves you money wherever you go.

The pass not only saves money, it saves time by allowing you to bypass often long lines to purchase tickets.