No-one wants to spend money unnecessarily – especially when it comes to travel. And the UK can be an expensive country to visit! When you’re trying to do it with a bunch of kids too, the costs can add up pretty quick! But there are ways to stretch your budget, without compromising on having fun. Read on!!!
If you’re planning on seeing any historic sites while you’re in the UK, you might want to look at getting a family annual membership for either English Heritage or the National Trust. Both are charities that look after a huge number of historic sites – on the whole, English Heritage takes care of a lot of castle ruins and abbey ruins, whereas the National Trust looks after a lot of stately homes and parkland. (Great for those who love their Downton Abbey!) And much older places, like Roman or prehistoric sites are divided between the two! There’s a huge range of sites, spread all over the country, so there’s sure to be at least one near where you’re staying. Plus, nearly all the sites are family friendly, with a lot of them having playgrounds so the kids can burn off some energy!
So, let’s look at one of Britain’s most visited historic sites – the one shown at the top of this post – as an example. If you’re wanting to visit Stonehenge, either membership will allow you entry without an additional cost. At time of posting, an advance booking family ticket to Stonehenge through English Heritage’s website is £65.80 (for 2 adults and 3 children), and an on the day family ticket is £78.10.
English Heritage family membership is £126 for a whole year (2 adults and up to 12 children), and National Trust family membership is £159 (2 adults and any children or grandchildren that live with them), so if you’re in the UK for a while and are thinking of visiting another site or two, a family membership for one or the other might make sense for you.
(Tip – While the powers that be at Stonehenge keep you a small distance from the circle itself, Avebury is a larger stone circle, fairly near by, where you can get up close and personal with the stones! And it’s included in a National Trust membership!)
In addition, if you’re wandering around the UK, an English Heritage membership will get you half price entry to historic properties managed by Cadw in Wales and Historic Scotland in Scotland. And if you hop across the sea to Ireland, it’ll get you into some OPW (Office of Public Works) sites too! What a bonus!!!
If you want to take a look what historic sites will be near where you’re staying, you can find English Heritage’s interactive map here, and the National Trust’s interactive map here – clicking on the different properties will allow you to see their individual opening hours and prices, so you can check whether a family membership (English Heritage or National Trust) would be a good deal for you.
Extra Bonus Tip!
If you want to break up the history with some other kid-friendly activities, Cadbury’s chocolate multipacks usually have discount codes for saving money at a range of locations. Big theme parks like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, Sea Life Centre aquariums, Legoland and the Legoland discovery centres, the London Eye, Madam Tussauds, and Cadbury World are all included. Nip into your nearest supermarket, and look for the offer on the packaging – a pack of Freddo chocolate bars is usually the cheapest option and will likely save you far more than that, as there’s between 10% and 50% off entry costs for up to 4 people with each pack! (Plus you get to eat the yummy chocolate – if the kids don’t get to it first!)
I hope you’ve found this post helpful. Stay tuned for more posts on UK travel for families – and if there’s anything specific you’d like me to cover, just let me know!
A Different Way To Go 
I really must take up the national trust membership, thanks for reminding me!!
LikeLike