donnae_b

We are considering buying the Heritage Pass for England, what places have you used it for? Was it worth it?

janis

If you are spending any time outside of London the Great British Heritage Pass is one of the best tourist bargains anywhere. It is useful in London - but the BIG savings are outside of the capital.

To give you an idea - if you visit Warwick Castle and the Shakespeare properties in Stratford (the two towns are only 7 miles apart so this is a reasonable day) you would have fully paid for a 7-day GBHP. That would make everything else you visit essentially free.

The biggest savings are at the privately owned stately homes - Blenheim, Warwick, Longleat, Chatsworth, Castle Howard - plus the biggies such as Hampton Court Palace and Windsor. Some of these are now up to 311 or more and it doesn't take long to recoup the cost.

They sell 4, 7, 15, and 30-day passes so you can tailor it to your needs. For isatance if I were going for 3 weeks and one week was in London, I'd probably buy a 15 day GBHP and work it out to visit most the main tourist attractions during a 15 consecutive days.

leave major shopping and non-covered properties to the other 6 days.

janis

that 311 should read £11

SoloAlex

Good heavens YES!! On my last trip I bought a 7-day pass to do some castle- and manor-hopping in Kent and Sussex. It paid for itself on the third day. If you're looking to visit some big properties with high admittances fees (Leeds is £11) you can come out ahead quite easily.

Also, RailEurope, BritRail and TicketsTo.com are offering the 7-day card at the 4-day price through August (see http://www.travelbritain.org/newhome/discounts/gbhp.htm under special offer)

A caveat: This is only a great deal if you buy railpasses, etc. at the same time. RailEurope and TicketsTo will tack on a $15 handling fee, so you will only save $4 if all you buy is the GBHP. Otherwise, save yourself a few quid and buy it in-country.

SaraLM

I certainly believe so, saved us lots of money. Janis is right that it is better outside London. We saw so many homes, it also allowed us to go to some that we were driving by that we might not have paid to go in. It is also easy to use.

JMM

I always buy a Heritage Pass on my trips to the U.K. Most times it has payed for itself in a matter of days. Unless you are NOT interested in Stately homes and castles - it is defintely worth it. Take note - it is good for National Trust properties (like Chartwell) and privately owned properties like Blenheim Palace.

TuckH

The English Heritage pass and membership in the National Trust are two separate things. I may be wrong but I believe more properties are owned and operated by the Trust, although the ones mentioned here are Heritage.

Either one is a bargain when visiting a couple or more sites but one should check beforehand which sites are owned by which organization.

janis

Tuck - afraid you have confused things abit.

The Great British Heritage Pass does not own or operate any properties. It allows entry to ALL Nat'l Trust, Nat'l Trust for Scotland, English Heritage and Historic Scotland sites plus a lot of privately owned ones and some Royal residences.

That includes Nat'l Trust sites like Sissinghurst, Nat'l Trust for Scotland like Craigevar, Historic Scotland like Melrose Abbey, English Heritage sites like Stonehenge, Private like Blenheim or Warwick, Royal like Windsor and Osborne.

TuckH

Aha, thanks Janis.

So the "English Heritage" is distinct from the "Great British Heritage"; is that it?

In the past, we've joined the Trust and been disappointed when pulling up to a Heritage site. I could have (should have?) bought this Great British Heritage Pass? Oh well.

kathyl

This pass sounds almost too good to be true! Where does one buy the Heritage Pass for England? And is it a good value for a 8 day trip to London--with side trips to Bath, Windsor, and Hampton Court?

Louise

You may order it on the net. Do a search for British Heritage Pass. We had ours within a week.

janis

kathyl: It's full name is "Great British Heritage Pass". For the places you list, the GBHP would get you into the Roman Baths in Bath, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Tower Bridge Experience, the Royal Mews, the Royal Observatory and Maritime Museum at Greenwich, and half off admission to the Tower.

You can buy it on-line, by phone through BritRail USA's 800 number, at Heathrow or Glasgow airports, the largest Tourist Information Centers or at some of the covered properties.

It is usually best to buy it ahead of time since you can study the 40 page brochure and decide which places you want to visit.

pcheesy

I have a question...does the Visitors Travel Card cover the same things as the Heritage Pass? Whats the difference?

Anonymous

There is no overlap between the Visitors Travelcard and the Heritage Pass. The latter is for admission to historic places throughout Britain; the former is a pass for the tube and buses in London.

KathyM

When we went to Paris 2 years ago we found the Museum Pass a great value -- valuable as much or more for saving time by enabling us to bypass long lines as it was for saving money. Does the British Heritage Pass work the same way? (i.e.,grant you quicker access to the sites without having to stand in long lines?)

PalenqueBob

Even in London the pass can be a good deal. Went to Windsor Castle (about 12 pounds; St. Paul's (9 lb); the Royal Mews (5 lb) and several other lesser sights. Plus with the 7 day pass for the prices of 4 days it can be a great deal. Many things are free in London, however, including most major museums. I bought mine from Budget Europe (1-800-441-9413). I also used it in York and at Fountains Abbey, Hatfield House and Hever Castle - all about 7 lbs. each. At Windsor it also put me in a special line, avoiding a long queue. If I would have gone to the Tower of London it would have given me 50% off. Plus I went to some lesser sights I never would have paid to see, like Welling Arch and the Banqueting House.

donnae_b

ttt

maureens

Just returned from 15 days in beautiful England and took the Heritage Pass - I used it a few times (Kensington Palace and Durham Cathedral and Burghley Manor but it is not accepted everywhere such as Westminster Abbey, York Cathedral). It does save you money BUT if you are taking booked tours like Evans and Evans etc - it won't help.

janis

You are right. The GBHP is not intended for those going on organized tours. When you pay a tour operator, that cost includes any entrance fees for the places you will visit.

The GBHP is for people traveling independently. It does not cover EVERY attraction in the UK - but it does include more than 600 sites and most travelers will find it covers the majority of places they want to visit outside of London and many in London. But there will always be some places not covered - where one will have to pay.

I have been on some trips where every single tourist attraction was covered by the Pass, and some trips only maybe 60+ % of them. In all cases I saved more than twice the price of the Pass. A LOT depends on where you are going.