What's your favourite National Trust site to visit?
We would love to hear your recommendations of your favourite National Trust sites to visit. Please share below with any pictures you have too!
Also don't forget that our members can save 8% on a National Trust gift card, redeemable against entry to National Trust properties, plus new National Trust memberships, on-site shops, cafés and restaurants, as well as gift membership packs!
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Hawkers Hut - the smallest NT property - originally built by the vicar as a den where he look at the sea and smoke opium.
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A difficult question as there are so many lovely properties and areas of the countryside owned / managed by the National Trust. However, if I had to pick one ( and as the OP doesn’t specify National Trust England) I would nominate Inverewe Gardens at Poolewe. It’s always spectacular and different depending on the time of year. It’s hard to believe it’s so far north. The pictures were taken at the very end of September this year.
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Not an easy question to answer, as they own such a lot and hugely diverse…………..
Hadrians Wall for a big walking, discovery experience, with beautiful scenery and lots to explore like Housteads, Chester’s, etc….
Best property garden? For me it’s Wallington, up in Northumberland, closely followed by the gardens on St Michael’s Mount.
Best adventure? Farne Islands, especially Outer Farnes, and StMichael’s Mount when the tide is in
Best walking…….South West Coast Path, stunning hard to reach beaches, sun set and sunrise watching locations, picnic spots
Best item of NT food…….Spicy Chickpea Pasty!
They do get it abysmally wrong at times though. Worst visits I have had are both two “flagship” properties. Went to Knole as part of an NT property week long tour, and it should have been fabulous given the age of Knole. But they were stitched up with the initial taking on of the property, and whilst what you get to see is very good, you don’t actually get to see much as the family control most of the access. Hugely disappointing. Latest big disappointment was Hardwick Hall. We visited late last March. The garden beds were empty, just bare beds. Inside the Hall you could barely make anything out, as it was so dark and gloomy, we had to resort to torches to see pictures, tapestries, other objects. Volunteers told us they were getting lots of complaints as it’s not a cheap visit. Reviews bore this out. We wouldn’t go back again soon.
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As Steve says there are so many and really each one is excellent. If I had to pick one then it's Wallington Hall in Northumberland. It's only 40 minutes away from us and it's our go to day out. There's the house, the walled garden, and really more walks than you could do in a number of visits, cycle trails, and a number of eating places, not all open during the week but the maincafe always is. There's also a great playground for kids. We usually go about twice a month and these were from Wednesday. There's enough space for motorhome parking but not overnight and EV charging too. The colours are amazing at the moment.
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You are so lucky where you live Corners. Just so much fabulous history, gardens, beaches and Hadrian’s Wall.
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We're lucky to have Stourhead just around the corner, which is fabulous at this time of year, as well as Hambledon Hill
Further afield, Cragside in the North East is brilliant, and 780 miles of coastline in Cornwall is NT owned = free parking in NT car parks for members.
If I could only visit one NT site though, it would be Orford Ness in Suffolk. Eerily atmospheric, it just oozes with history and intrigue.
Lets not forget English Heritage. Less polished than the National Trust, and feels more authentic
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As already said, a tough one to answer, there are so many lovely places. After over 30 years membership I gave it up in 2022 for various reason. Houses became much of a muchness but we loved the gardens and landscapes. Two spring to mind Trelissick, on the river Fal, Corwall where we originally joined and Bodnant, near Llandudno, North Wales. On the odd occasion we now visit NT properties, we now pay entry as required.
peedee
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As others have said it is hard to pick just 1, apples and oranges comparison spring to mind. There are quite a few that have already been mentioned but one that hasn't is Quarry Bank Mill, not your archetypal NT place but steeped in Industrial History and if you get a really good guide it's magic.
I'm not too fussy about a lot of the traditional houses as many of the back history is one of suppression of various classes of people, some of them indirectly by having links with the Slave trade. I often wonder how the riches that sustained the house were made which tends to take the edge of enjoying the artefacts.So places like Orford Ness and Farne Islands are more to my liking.
I agree with you about Hardwick Hall @Takethedogalong. Very poor.
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We are Cadw Members as well, and I was an EH volunteer for 13 years. We prefer our history very old, so Castles, very old houses, ruined Abbeys more our thing. We thoroughly enjoyed Little Moreton Hall (NT) in Cheshire, very old, very quirky. Hardly a straight wall in the place. Buckland Abbey on Dartmoor is old and interesting as well…..
Little Moreton Hall
Buckland Abbey, home of Sir Francis Drake. Nice gardens and walks.
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In every NT mansion I go to there seem to be the same portraits on the walls, and the same silent ladies of a certain age standing guard in every room. Do they move them all around from house to house?
But the coastal NT car parks here in Cornwall - about 50 of them and free to members - are worth the cost of membership
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Our go to NT visit was Stourhead for many years as living in Somerset not far to go but only for the gardens bot too keen on some of the houses, we are not members anymore but might go to 1 or 2 NT gardens next year as we will be staying in Devon in 2 different cottages as we do not bring the caravan over anymore to UK.
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It’s a long time since we visited Knightshayes Court in SW. very interesting place, and superb gardens, including the Walled Garden.
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too expensive these days .
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We try and visit all those N/T properties that are open close to every site we stop on, and especially like the Tudor era properties such as Cotehele and Little Moreton Hall, and those that have extensive grounds and gardens such as Blickling, Sherringham and Fellbrigg. We do have a couple of to go ones which we perhaps visit more than any others, Attingham and Croome for the estate walks and exhibitions. We also make use of their car parks around the coast and in The Lakes.
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@moorlander999 just the opposite really for us.
For a monthly fee of just over £14 two adults and all children get entry into all NT properties and their car parks. Great value for money.
Even less for with a senior's discount.
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I am with you there @Cornersteady we certainly get great value from our seniors membership.
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You have to know that you will cover the cost of annual Membership really, so anyone not that interested in history, or unable to visit beautiful places, it might not be for them. We always get our Membership costs back, as we enjoy walking, cycling, gardens, history of all sorts. Plus of course the car parking.
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When we were able we used to visit National Trust properties whilst we were away occasioonally but I never felt that we would get value out of the membership fee. Now we were a bit spoilt because we used to be able to take advantage of our ex employers corporate membership but that has now ended. Likewise we had a scheme whereby we could claim 50% of any entry fee back but sadly that has also ended. Unfortunately our ex employers have in recent years been air brushing pensioners out of most previous retirement benefits.
David
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@TimboC Just read your post about Orford Ness: my OH used to work there during the "Cold War" in the early 70's, on the joint RAF/USAF base, when it was all highly secretive. We have been back in recent years and he can't get over the fact that people are now walking everywhere on the island, where there used to be armed guards. A very interesting place with a lot of history.
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I think you have to work out if taking out Membership is going to be good value for money. Some of the NT places to visit can be expensive, but visit enough, factor in some of the car parks and it’s never been hard for us to get vfm. We do qualify for pensioner rates as well now, which unless I am mistaken, you cannot get merely based on age, you have to have had a five year Membership prior to claiming it. It works for us because we look at what we want to see when touring an area, rather than making where we pitch up the priority. We are off to Hadrians Wall area shortly, and know that there will be at least 3 pay to enter properties open that we want to see, might even get more in on way up and back down. One holiday can cover our Membership, not to mention places close to home that we visit frequently, such as Clumber, Nostell, Longshaw Estate.
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I agree with what you say @Takethedogalong about value for money. There are seldom a site we stay on from which we don't visit at least one NT property.
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I'm not really sure you need to get value for money from your membership - it's a charity after all. Whilst we visit a few properties whilst away in the caravan ( and park free in many other locations), we are happy to be contributing to the pleasure of future generations who will still be able to able to visit these wonderful places.
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I certainly do need to get value from anything I pay for Arthur, I have a choice in paying for it after all. While I maybe contributing to keeping these places for future generations at the same time I care not one jot about that. I buy membership for my own enjoyment. Selfish but there it is.
I view it as buying a mince pie and essentially having my cake and eating it.
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Lost me there completely AG, you made a reference to the NT not perhaps giving you value for money, which to many on here it does, and now a leap to not wishing to get your money's worth from when you give to those charities you mentioned? But why would you expect that? Who would? I certainly wouldn't.
I think there's a significant difference between those charities and the NT, but it's not what I was alluding to but never mind. Thanks for sharing your views on when and where you don't get your money's worth.
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I would agree with MikeyB, certainly now. I consider it a very worthwhile cause and am not bothered about getting my moneys worth, although I suspect we do. I say certainly now, as when we joined the trust over 40 years ago, with two kids that certainly wasn’t the case, we did it because we saved our annual membership on Clumber alone, taking the kids to feed the ducks.🙂
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For me there is a significant, almost immeasureable difference between a charity that supports those seriously ill, the homeless, those far less fortunate than myself and that includes animals too. I give to those numerously and freely without a second thought once given. I also give my time. I do so because I can.
However the NT, and others are simply commercial enterprises that use the term charity for legal, perhaps tax reasons and advantages, they are no more charities than an independent school I often work for. As such if they want my money I want something in return. I'm not even sure future generations care about these buildings being preserved anyway.
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