National Trust vs Heritage Pass
 

Can anyone tell me the difference between the Heritage Pass & the National Trust Pass? Is one of them better than the other? My husband & I plan a 5 week trip through out Great Britain & are getting comfused. We plan to drive around the country for the majority of the trip. We won't be stopping at every castle, garden & museum but many of them.

English Heritage, the National Trust, National trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland and other groups all sell visitors passes.

For most folks the Great British Heritage Pass is by far the better bargain.

EH passes only cover English Heritage sites -- stonehenge, ruined castles, abbey and the like.

The National Trust pass only covers NT properties -- Sissinghurst, Hidecote Manor, Waddesdon and the like.

Same for National trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland -- the passes only cover their own sites.

The GBHP covers ALL EH sites, ALL NT properties, SOME Royal sites (Windsor, Osborne House, etc), St Pauls Cathedral and assorted London sites, AND most privately owned sites -- Warwick, Blenheim, Chatsworth, Castle Howard, etc, etc.

The private places tend to be the most expensive - £10 to £13 each.

Just last June I used a 7-day GBHP ($38) and using it 1 day in London and 4 days in Kent/East Sussex I got over £83 worth of admissions. And if I had gone to the Tower and St Pauls this trip it would have been over £100 -- all for just $38 invested. I ALWAYS recommend the GBHP for the the vast majority of people.

On a long trip like yours, you will save hundreds of dollars w/ a GBHP.

I would like to echo janis' recommendation regarding the Great British Heritage Pass. We recently used the 14 days pass($52) at 18 places that would have cost us over $200/person. If you decide to go with the GBHP, buy it at railpass.com as it is considerably cheaper there for some unknown reason.

Thanks for the information & suggestions. I was going loopy trying to figure it all out. I'ts hard enough just trying to decide where all to go.

Holly, we have used the Great British Heritage Pass every time we go to the UK. Before you buy your pass check with www.visitbritain.com as we have always been able to find discounts on the passes when purchased before our arrival. Hopefully you will be able to also. Even without a discount the passes are a great bargain. Have a wonderful trip. Deborah

So which pass would be better if the visit is limited to Scotland? Would the GBHP still be the best choice, or would the National Trust for Scotland or Historic Scotland be better? Is there a website that lists the locations each pass is good for?

The GBHP is fantastic for Scotland -- UNLESS most of your trip is on Skye and the extreme west coast. There are few sites covered in that area (Dunvegan for instance is not covered)

But over most of Scotland there are more properties covered than you could possibly see in a 3 month's visit, let alone a 3 week trip.

really, almost the only major sites not covered in south, central or northern Scotland are Dunnottar (But be sure to see it anyway) and Cawdor castles and Abbotsford.

It covers edinburgh castle, stirling, all the castles of the "castle trail" (Crathes, Fraser, Craigevar, etc), all the border abbeys, Traquair House, Culzean, Glencoe, Culloden, Falkland, Scone, and 150 other major and minor sites

Meant to add - the GBHP costs a little more than the Nat'l Trust for Scotland or Historic Scotland passes -- but it includes ALL of the places covered by both of them plus many privately owned one so it is a much better bargain (Traquair for instance).